World Earth
Day is celebrated as every year on April 22 to raise
awareness about the environmental problems that our planet earth suffers. But
just one day a year, neither the great efforts that have been made so far, nor
the thousands of voices raised on this serious issue have been enough to change
the pattern of destruction that we continue to see.
Global
warming, CO2 emissions, the pollution of our oceans due to the number of
plastics and polluted river springs, excess garbage, the lack of recycling and
reuse possibilities -as well as the lack of education on the subject-, the lack
of civility and the poor citizen conscience of the inhabitants of the planet,
are part of the problem. The list can go on, and on, and on… But the
reality is, as the movement called Global Citizen says, Global Citizen, climate change and environmental
degradation threaten ecosystems, animals, and human livelihoods, being the most
vulnerable people living in poverty. From plastic pollution to extreme weather
events, environmental challenges persist and the world -our planet Earth-
suffers as a result. We are not doing enough.
And why is it
that after so many years, so many efforts and programs, so many people
dedicated to making known the problems that global warming and environmental
pollution are causing, has nothing changed?; What has happened to the messages
from Bill Gates, Al Gore, Gretha Thunberg, Ban Ki Moon, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim,
and so many others that seems do not reach a greater number of people and,
therefore, are not enough? Ban Ki-Moon, former UN Secretary-General, recently
said that “Continued economic growth and global poverty reduction are
possible despite these daunting challenges, but only if societies invest much
more in adaptation,” and urged world leaders, businesses, and citizens to
invest in adaptation to ensure that all communities can withstand
extreme weather events, but again, this is not enough.
Adaptation:
maybe this is the magic approach. According to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, climate adaptation
refers to “adjustments in ecological, social or economic systems in response
to actual or expected climate stimuli and their effects or impacts. It refers
to changes in processes, practices, and structures to moderate the potential
damages or to benefit from the opportunities associated with climate change. In
simple terms, countries and communities must develop an adaptation solution and
implement actions to respond to the impacts of climate change that are already
occurring, as well as prepare for future impacts.”
But there is
no "one-size-fits-all": adaptation can range from building
flood defenses, establishing early warning systems for cyclones, and switching
to drought-resistant crops, to redesigning communication systems, business
operations and government policies. But overly ambitious actions and plans will
be needed to profitably and quickly manage the number of investments required,
as well as the risks to be faced, both now and in the future. Again, what
we are doing is Not Enough.
Storms, floods,
and waves of cold or heat are becoming more frequent, drastic, and dangerous
all over the world; just in the month of February more than half of the US had
freezing temperatures reaching -10 or -15 Fahrenheit Degrees, followed by days
of close to 100 degrees to be followed by hail in several parts of the southwest.
This is a clear example of the global warming issues. Also, as we know, people
living in poverty are increasingly at risk of suffering the consequences of an environmental
catastrophe. Moving towards a more sustainable and resilient future requires a
greater collaborative effort between countries and sectors, between companies
and society. But what is done, what ideas and initiatives are carried out,
depends on each one of us. The plans are not made alone, they require the
active participation of people. But it seems that there are not enough
committed people either.
TIME magazine
in its September 12, 2019, published an interesting article about
entrepreneurial and empowered women around the world who are raising their
voices and leading the fight against climate change. I invite you to read this
interesting article so that we can continue to see what is being done today: TIME: Meet 15
Women Leading the Fight Against Climate Change
The TED
organization, for its part, in October 2020 launched a new idea, a global
initiative called
TED Countdown to defend and accelerate solutions to
the climate crisis, turning ideas into actions. I had the opportunity to
organize the first TED Countdown held in Caracas, Venezuela with speakers from
Venezuela, Panama, and Spain, who spoke to us about the subject, which is
worrying for so many of us. But like everything, it requires action and
education. TED Countdown continues to promote these and many other initiatives
that you can read at this link:
TED
Countdown: for a better future
We must do a
better job of stopping global warming. "Five years since the adoption
of the Paris Agreement, the world is still far from meeting its climate
goals," said Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations
Environment Program. The report released by the UN in 2020 is a vivid reminder
that we are a long way from avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.
Humans have
already caused major climate change, and we have set more changes in motion.
Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, global warming would
continue to occur for several more decades. That is because the planet (the
oceans, for example) takes a long time to respond, and because carbon dioxide,
the predominant heat-trapping gas, stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of
years. There is a time lag between what we do and when we feel it. But it may
not be too late to avoid or limit some of the worst effects of climate change.
Responding to
climate change will involve a two-tiered approach: 1) "mitigation":
reducing the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; and 2) “adaptation”:
learning to live and adapt to climate change that has already started. Climate
change is a truly global and a complex problem with economic, social, political,
and moral ramifications; its solutions will require both a globally coordinated
response (such as international policies and agreements between countries) and
a local one, such as efforts at the city and regional level (for example,
improvements in public transport, improvements in energy efficiency,
sustainable urban planning, etc.). What happens next is up to us.
In an
interesting article by Art Markman published October 11, 2018 in the Harvard
Business Review
and titled Why People Are Not Motivated to Address Climate Change, the
author indicated that people are often highly motivated to avoid threats, but
only if they see or feel them. In this sense, why is it so difficult to get
people to act on climate change? People should be motivated to avoid
threats to their existence, but unfortunately, climate change involves a
combination of factors that make it difficult for people to motivate
themselves. Markman points out first, that acting on climate change represents
a compromise between short-term and long-term benefits, which is the hardest
compromise for people to make. Secondly, he indicates that climate change is a
non-linear problem and that it is therefore more difficult to understand.
Third, many effects of climate change are or seem far from most people, which
makes it hard to grasp. And finally, the future is always more uncertain than
the present. And all these factors together are working against us to
understand the true impact that climate change has today and what it will have
in the not-too-distant future. Again, we already know the answer, we have
not done enough.
But maybe all
is not lost. There are many initiatives underway; we just must look for them.
There is a large number of NGOs working on the issue; we just must connect with
what they do. There are a lot of ideas that come up every day; we just must own
them. Whether we are trying to get involved in more activities that reduce the
impact on the climate or trying to convince others to act, there are some
things that can be done.
In short, we
must look for and join initiatives, connect with the people who are working on
it and own the ideas that could have an impact on climate change.
Consider the
probability that global climate change is real; that the future of our children
and grandchildren may be different. Let us ask ourselves how taking climate
change seriously is different; let us consider what we would be willing to give
up today knowing that in a generation there will be serious and catastrophic
consequences due to inaction. Let us start a serious discussion about values
among colleagues. And let us decide to know and promote more about the
environment.
As customers,
employees, and shareholders we must urge companies and governments to do more
on climate change. And as members of society, we must drive the changes that
are necessary and involve our communities in this crucial issue. Michael E.
Mann, in his article Everyone Faces Choices Every Day That Has a Climate
Cost for TIME Magazine,
wrote that "lifestyle changes are not enough to save the planet."
We are running
out of time. As Ban Ki Moon said, "we don't have plan B because we
don't have planet B." Let us make this World Earth Day, in this 2021,
living in a pandemic and with a planet that does not resist any more abuse, be
the day when all together, as a great community, we commit to having a better
world. Our children, grandchildren and the future of the planet will thank us.
Luis Vicente García
@LVGarciaG
