The Brief — Sleepwalking into climate catastrophe – EURACTIV.com - EURACTIV

The Brief - Sleepwalking into climate catastrophe - EURACTIV.com
By Kira Taylor | EURACTIV.com Est. 6min 25-07-2023 Content-Type: Editorial, Opinion Editorial An OpinionNewsArticle is a NewsArticle that primarily expresses opinions rather than journalistic reporting of news and eventsOpinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data. The Brief is EURACTIV's evening newsletter, [EPA-EFE/LEFTERIS DAMIANIDIS] EURACTIV is part of the Trust Project >>> Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Europe is on fire again, and pictures from this year’s wildfires in Greece, Spain, and Italy look more like scenes from a dystopian film than real life, but this is likely just the start. While wildfires are common in the Mediterranean, but the climate crisis is increasing their intensity and frequency, meaning larger, hotter fires more often. Globally, 2023 has seen wildfires, heatwaves, and floods of almost biblical proportions. Meanwhile, ocean temperatures are increasing, with average surface temperatures reaching unprecedented levels for June and sea ice failing to regrow in the Antarctic. If this were a movie, you’d expect top-secret government meetings, panicked news reports, and a group of desperate scientists working with every available resource to resolve it. Yet, the real word version is disturbingly apathetic. Even when the panic sets in, it is often fleeting. Embraced by fires, heatwaves, and floods, the world is literally becoming the ‘this is fine’ meme. This is terrifying to my generation, who will live to see whether the world reaches its net zero goals, possibly even to see what warming happens at the end of the century and its effects. Whatever choices are made now will dictate the course of our lives. And it is not like we didn’t have any warning. Already in the late 1800s, there was an inkling that burning fossil fuels would lead to a build-up of carbon dioxide and insulate the Earth. In the 1970s, scientists at fossil energy giant Exxon predicted global warming and for decades, scientists have warned about the drastic and irreversible consequences of the status quo continuing. Sadly, many of the poorest nations have borne the brunt of climate disasters. Africa has seen catastrophic famines, heatwaves and pandemics (the last often triggered by biodiversity loss), islands, like those in the Pacific, are being lost to rising sea levels, and Southeast Asia has seen devastating heatwaves and floods. It seems a very colonial mentality to only panic about the climate crisis when it hits close to home, especially given the Global North’s responsibility for the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. But better late than never to speed up the major systemic change required to decarbonise energy and industry, cut down on consumption, adapt to extreme weather and more. This also makes economic sense in the long run. In Europe alone, the European Commission hopes the transition will attract at least €1 trillion of investments by 2030, while the cost of inaction could shave 11% off southeast Asia’s GDP by 2100. And the longer the world waits, the more costly tackling the issue will be. Still, this seems beyond our reach. Time and again, short-term economic gains have been prioritised over the long-term stability of nations, energy, food and water security, the avoidance of wars, and the unnecessary creation of refugees. Take the example of the biggest oil and gas companies quietly rolling back pledges, including Shell dropping plans to cut oil production up to 2030 and BP cutting its emissions pledge. There is also a disturbing apathy in governments and public opinion. Look at the pushback against green laws in Europe or the Daily Mail attacking a climate journalist rather than the broader issues driving the crisis. The world already has the Paris Agreement, which despite labour pains, looks easy compared to the actual work needed to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. But shying away or turning our backs is not an option if we want a liveable future. If we want to avoid migrants dying in the Mediterranean, ensure food and water security and have enough liveable areas for a growing population, a major part of the solution is avoiding the catastrophic failure of the ecosystems. The world needs a major systemic change, including every country and every nation, and every day we wait, we make the challenge bigger. Today’s edition is powered by Chemours Fluorochemistries: building blocks of modern society Fluorinated chemistry is critical for Europe’s green and digital transition. However, wider industry adoption of cleaner energy solutions won’t be possible without the right innovations in chemistry. Find out more >> The Roundup The supply of over 50% of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland is at risk of being discontinued after 2025 despite the reforms to the Northern Ireland protocol, a UK parliament committee has warned the government in a new report published on Tuesday. Eni, Enel and other state-controlled Italian energy groups are due to benefit from a partial transfer of European Union funds to the REPowerEU scheme, credit rating agency DBRS said on Monday. New nuclear is less cost-competitive than wind, solar or electricity storage options and hinders investments in renewable energies that could otherwise be deployed much faster, according to a peer-reviewed commentary published in the scientific journal Joule. Digital platforms like Facebook and YouTube must invest more in content moderation and reporting and increase transparency to comply with the EU’s new digital laws, France’s media watchdog said on Monday. The Italian state secretary for the digital transition called for caution regarding a possible EU initiative to make tech companies contribute to telecom infrastructure in an interview with EURACTIV. Look out for… Commissioner Thierry Breton meets with Florian Tusky, secretary of state of Austria, on Wednesday. Commissioner Stella Kyriakides participates in Informal meeting of Health Ministers organised by the Spanish Council Presidency in Las Palmas on Friday. Informal meeting of competitiveness ministers on Thursday-Friday. Views are the author’s [Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor] Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Topics Climate change Energy & Environment The Brief