Steve Molenaar: Fixing the climate for our earth's sake - West Central Tribune

Steve Molenaar: Fixing the climate for our earth's sake - West Central Tribune | News, weather, sports from Willmar Minnesota

Steve Molenaar: Fixing the climate for our earth's sake

From the commentary, "Climate change is too big to be solved only by individual actions like driving less, eating less meat, or planting a tree. The average American releases about 16 tons GtCO2 annually, while global emissions are 42,200,000,000 tons. Individual efforts are woefully inadequate. We need bold leadership from the U.S. Congress, our state legislatures, and local city councils. Think of your own government representatives."

The world's foremost climate change research organization, the International Panel on Climate Change, also known as IPCC, issued its latest climate report on Mach 20, 2023. It states that we now have just seven more years to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% to avoid passing 1.5 degrees C warming. This is important because warming beyond 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) will result in more extreme weather events, frequent and severe wildfires, and greater sea level rise. Our property insurance rates would increase and our farmers would have to deal with more severe weather challenges. You can download the report here: bit.ly/climate032023

The report was written by 234 experts and was accepted by all 195 member countries of the IPCC, of which the U.S. is one. Nonetheless, life goes on as usual and the world's greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb. We aren't overly concerned because it hasn't hurt us too much yet, (except for those suffering from storms, floods, drought, and wildfires). Some politicians have a low sense of urgency and may be waiting for a monetary incentive to act. The World Bank offers just such an incentive.

On March 27, 2023, the World Bank released its report, "Falling Long-Term Growth Prospects". It forecasts that the 3.1% global Gross Domestic Product growth rate during the years 2000 to 2010 will drop by a third, down to 2.2% by 2030. The report noted that climate-related disasters reduce a country's GDP on average by 0.1% in the year of the disaster. Some areas such as the Middle East and North Africa are expected to suffer more, with crop yields expected to fall by 30% with a 1.5 degree C temperature increase. On the other hand, the report predicts that GDP could be increased by 0.3% by investing to achieve climate goals.

The IPCC is warning us of unpleasant consequences if we don't act to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, while the World Bank offers us a reward in the form of a boost in our economy if we do act. The choice is clear. We need to act now to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

The concept of a "Carbon Budget" can help us visualize the size of our problem. This is the amount of additional CO2 that we can release before global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees C. The IPCC estimates that, for a 60% chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C, future global CO2 emissions need to be limited to 400 GtCO2 starting in 2020. (The unit GtCO2 is a gigaton of carbon dioxide, or one billion tons of carbon dioxide.) Subtract from this, 3 1/4 years of global emissions of 42.2 GtCO2 per year that have been released since the start of 2020, and the remaining carbon budget today is 262 GtCO2. This leaves us just six more years of global emissions of 42.2 GtCO2 per year before we have to suddenly stop releasing all CO2 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. This means in six years we would have to stop driving our gas-fueled vehicles, stop heating or cooking with gas, and close the coal-fired power plants, such as the one that supplies electricity to Kandiyohi Power Coop.

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Of course, it's not feasible to instantly stop releasing all CO2, so the IPCC advises us to steadily reduce our CO2 emissions by 50% over the next seven years, and then all the way down to zero by 2050. The IPCC offers a chart on page 28 of their report, showing the 31 best options for how to do this. Switching to solar and wind power together have the potential to reduce annual emissions by 8 GtCO2 by 2030. Using energy more efficiently could cut another 8 GtCO2. Reforestation and reducing conversion of land to agriculture could cut another 7 GtCO2. Down near the bottom of the list are the most expensive options, nuclear power and carbon capture and storage. Together they could cut only another 1.5 GtCO2.

Climate change is too big to be solved only by individual actions like driving less, eating less meat, or planting a tree. The average American releases about 16 tons GtCO2 annually, while global emissions are 42,200,000,000 tons. Individual efforts are woefully inadequate. We need bold leadership from the U.S. Congress, our state legislatures, and local city councils. Think of your own government representatives. Do they accept a future with more severe storms, drought, and wildfires? Or are they in favor of investing in climate goals while at the same time growing our economy by 0.3%? If you don't think your representatives are doing a good job, tell them. If they refuse to act to mitigate global warming, then vote them out of office.

Steve Molenaar is a member of the Willmar Area Climate Action Group. This commentary is the columnist's opinion. The Willmar Area Climate Action Group seeks to take immediate local action to address the urgent issue of climate change and empower our community to support broad-scale solutions. To join, e-mail eoknutson@gmail.com. More info at: facebook.com/WACAG

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