planet CLIMATE CHANGE UPDATE

Record temperatures in Texas. Extreme flooding in eastern Australia. Rivers in Europe running dry. Twenty twenty-two has seen an unprecedented cluster of abnormal weather, the severity of which is widely ascribed to climate change. This has propelled the climate issue further into mainstream consciousness as a pivotally urgent issue which makes it worthwhile taking stock of where are with this vital issue.

Words MARTIN OLIVER

Photography Getty Images

International cooperation on climate issues dates back to 1992, and its major landmarks have been the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015). The Paris Agreement has a challenging goal of keeping the global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to attempt to limit it to 1.5 degrees. Yet despite these agreements, and a total of 27 climate conferences, carbon concentrations in the atmosphere have grown from a pre-industrial level of about 280 parts per million (ppm) to 422 ppm and continue to rise. Science is now saying that greenhouse gas emissions need to peak by 2025 to avoid disastrous climate change.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the big greenhouse gas to tackle, generated by the burning of fossil fuels for electricity generation and transport, and from agriculture, deforestation and industry. Other important gases include:

Ø Methane (25 times the global warming potential (GWP) of carbon dioxide) from agriculture, landfills and gas and coal production. One way to avoid generating it is by keeping waste food out of landfill.

Ø Nitrous oxide (GWP 296) from agriculture, fossil fuels and industry. Synthetic fertiliser use is a significant source.

Ø Fluorocarbons (GWP 164–14,600), frequently used as refrigerants. A more environmentally sound choice is to go for hydrocarbons, especially in fridges and car air conditioner recharges.

Key developments

Ø Among recent developments in the climate space are the following.

Ø Spurred on by extreme weather, a broad consensus has emerged on the need for swift action, going 100 per cent renewable and reaching net zero by 2050. Put into practice, this should translate into no further fossil fuel infrastructure being built anywhere. Net zero by 2050 means that emissions entering the atmosphere are at least balanced out by those being removed via negative emissions technologies or offsetting. The problem with offsetting is that it tends to be an easy get-out-of-jail-free card that deflects the need to make tough choices and difficult cuts in the here and now.