Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the main cause of the greenhouse effect that the planet is experiencing and that promotes climate change. Various international studies give an account of this, and point to the incessant use of fossil fuels, deforestation and the agricultural sector as being responsible for the current context. These are core issues of the climate action that is carried out – or seeks to be carried out – to slow down the negative effects of the increase in temperature in the world.
In this context, research and studies propose the transition to renewable energy sources, the reduction of dependence on hydrocarbons, the decarbonization of the economy, reforestation and forest protection, smart agriculture, and the reduction of meat consumption, among others. Actions. However, there is still a reluctance to accept the need for changes, which impacts the speed with which they must be implemented.
While this is happening, large amounts of GHG continue to be emitted and continue to accumulate in the atmosphere. The projections of the national governments aim to achieve emissions peaks at certain times of the century, according to the national contributions proposed in international forums. However, the constancy in the use of the current fossil energy model infers that these emission peaks will be achieved – if this is the case – in longer periods of time.
Given this, alternative proposals arise, such as the reduction of carbon dioxide. The key activity is afforestation, which involves planting new trees where none previously existed; but, other actions have been considered that can be considered as typical of geoengineering, and that refer to the fertilization of the oceans with iron or the development of technology to remove or capture this GHG from the atmosphere. These proposals are controversial and are still in the process of being studied and possibly developed.
There is another way to approach geoengineering, and it refers to the management of solar radiation through the use of stratospheric aerosols and the increase in albedo, which is the percentage of radiation that is reflected from the earth’s surface.
Thus, there are several options to correct the course, some seek to be preventive for effects that are already becoming visible, others seem like science fiction issues that require reservations about their viability and long-term implications.
The relevance of each strategy to promote each of these actions will depend on the degree of deterioration that the planet has in the medium term, the type of actions that the international community carries out in the immediate term, and the political context that is presented in the future. Given this, it is crucial to ask what has to be done with GHG emissions, and how joint strategies should be established and implemented for collaborative work aimed at reducing the impact of climate change.
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Gustavo Sosa Nunez
Doctor in Political Science from the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, United Kingdom. He is a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI), Level 1. His research interests include the analysis of environmental public policies, their results and convergence processes at the regional level. He is currently a research professor at the Mora Institute. Twitter: @gssosan / @institutomora
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