To avoid catastrophic effects, CO2 emissions must be reduced by 45% in the next 22 years, reducing the use of coal and natural gas

According to the Bloomberg website, the United Nations in its report on Monday warned of the need for a global investment of USD 2.4 trillion per year in renewable energies until 2035. Likewise, the organization emphasizes the reduction of use of coal as fuel and warns about "catastrophic damage" if this decrease is not achieved.

Leer en español: ¡Salvemos el medio ambiente! La millonaria suma que debemos invertir

This imminent need is due to the fact that, as the report points out, the atmosphere has warmed 1° C since the industrial revolution to our times, while between now and 2100 an increase of three degrees is expected, which is the double the estimated by the Paris climate agreements signed by 200 countries in 2015.

According to Panmao Zhai, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this rise in temperature will not only lead to a worrying rise in sea level, but also to the massive extinction of a 6% of the insects in the world, 8% of the plants and 4% of the vertebrate animals, due to the destruction of their natural habitats because to global warming.

According to the Bloomberg website, the IPCC estimates that to avoid these catastrophic effects, CO2 emissions should be reduced by 45% in the next 22 years, a process that would be "difficult and expensive, but not impossible" and would achieve the estimated increase in 3 ° C at the atmospheric temperature for 2100 reduce to 1.5 ° C.

Read also: The market of renewable energies becomes a possibility for Latin America

The $ 2.4 billion investment required annually by 2035 to achieve this goal represents an increase of seven times the $ 333.5 billion that, according to Bloomberg, was invested last year in renewable energy. This would mark a radical paradigm shift for the energy sector worldwide, since, according to the International Energy Agency, coal currently represents around 37% of the world's energy and gas 24%, while the IPCC proposes that by 2040, coal will represent 6% and gas 16%.

Reactions to the proposal

After reading the UN report and the IPCC proposal, Jan Erik Saugestad, executive director of Storebrand Asset Management of Norway, said: "The coal industry has no role in a climate-stable world [and] it is our pressing duty to ask other investors to end a meaningless compromise with companies exposed to coal." The businessman also affirms that he expects a collaboration of $ 88 billion dollars to the IPCC call.

On the other hand, Han Chen, member of the Natural Resources Defense Council, stated that "The large quantities of current gas plants should be removed early, while those that are under construction or in planning stages should be reconsidered immediately as they are not they are compatible with the future of 1.5 degrees."

Finally, Katie Warrick, Acting Executive Director of The World Coal Association, stated that "any credible way to meet the 1.5-degree scenario should focus on emissions rather than fuel."

What can we do as consumers?

On the other hand, following the publication of the UN report, CNN has published an article recalling what the IPCC recommends that we can do as consumers to reduce our carbon footprint.

Among these recommendations are the decrease in the use of private cars and their replacement by bicycles or public transportation. The replacement of old air conditioners in homes by environmentally friendly air conditioners will also arise. Finally, CNN notes that "eating less meat is one of the mitigation strategies suggested by the IPCC to review agricultural and land-use practices, including the protection of forests. It is estimated that the livestock sector represents 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than direct emissions from the transport sector. "

LatinAmerican Post | Sofía Carreño

Translated from: "¡Salvemos el medio ambiente! La millonaria suma que debemos invertir"

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