Ambition is the solution!

Ten years ago, we could still hear numerous people questioning the existence of climate change. Nowadays, nobody would dare to question a reality which is apparent to anyone who reads the news and has payed attention to the weather over the last 20 years. We all know that climate change is a reality and that scientists are mostly right.

Having admitted this fact, the next impression we often get is a simple and intuitive evaluation of the danger in front of us: "Is it going to be bad? Really bad?", "Can we fix it?", "How to fix it?". A single individual can easily feel overwhelmed by the size of the challenge when her/his mind replies "Yes, it's going to be bad", feeling a sense of urgency and the emotions of having to shovel a whole mountain alone.

Source: C3S, Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

In an article published by Financial Times on Feb. 8, 2024, and as reproduced in a different format above from the Climate Reanalyzer, we learn that the 12-month global temperature average has breached the 1.5C threshold so often talked about since the 2015 Paris Agreement. A 12-month average does not mean that there won't be years in the near future where global average temperature will be less than 1.5C. But obviously, and as anyone can convince her/himself, this is less and less likely to happen. Who knows at which exact temperature are the tipping points of the Earth's climate. The average global sea surface temperature is also breaking records, and the ocean has the capacity to store heat during long periods of time. So no doubt, it's getting bad pretty fast.

Should we despair then? No, we shouldn't!

Despairing would not serve any good (except maybe if it makes us stop emitting carbon at a global scale). It is also obvious that these clear "red alert" signals are triggering responses at a global scale. In an article published this week by The Guardian on Feb. 6, 2024, John Crace tells us that the European Commission has announced to cut its emissions by 90% by 2040 (and measure with respect to 1990 reference year). So far, Europe has only reduced emissions by 30%, so a lot remains to be done. But what an ambitious plan! We should rejoice that some countries are taking the lead to a sustainable future, and paving the way for more reluctant ones.

So far only Bhutan and Suriname have reached Net Zero emissions, and this certainly relates to the size of their respective economies, but they are still examples that others can follow. Obviously, the decarbonization of larger countries' economies is going to be challenging, but it will lead to major progress. Here is below a detailed appreciation of countries and ratings of their Net Zero targets from the Climate Action Tracker. As we can see, the European Union stands quite high and will probably move up in the ranking after this great announcement. But the United Kingdom and a few South American countries are ranking high as well. The percentage of global emissions covered by the "Acceptable" rated countries only represents 7%, and the "Average" rated countries reach 21%. If these countries can show such ambition and concrete signs of progress to Net Zero though, other economies inspired could raise their ambition and compete to decarbonize their own economies.

Source: Climate Action Tracker.

In conclusion, one should come back to our initial question regarding climate change: "How to fix it?". The opinion supported above is that we should first have great ambitions in our response to the threats of climate change and global warming. As for the solutions, we already have many in our hands, and the others to be discovered will be fantastic sources of developments and growth. Like Europe, some countries are accepting the challenge, and others are still not incentivized enough, but there are multiple paths to reach Net Zero.

We will continue to provide news about climate change and the successes achieved by many for the greater good. Stay tuned.