Earth is being pushed into chaos, and until the dependency on fossil fuels is not reduced drastically in the near future, the world cannot actualize its plans to reduce global warming according to the mutually developed goals.
UN’s Report Casts Spells of Horror of Climate Change
According to the latest report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world has to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels by almost 43 percent in order to not let the planet raise its temperature by 1.5 degrees celsius
However, going with the pace with which we are going now, the world is set on the path to reducing global emissions by a few percentage points.
The world is bifurcated between climate enthusiasts and climate deniers. And with so many divisions in the American legislature, it is not possible to pass any effective legislation that could be beneficial for the climate in the upcoming future.
The Senate is already equally divided, with a couple of climate deniers on the democratic side as well, which means that passing any pro-climate legislation by the end of this year will be impossible.
As per the polls, Republicans are likely to capture Congress in the midterm elections, which also suggests that the Climate change agenda is out of the question till the end of 2024.
Russia-Ukraine War has Largely Undone All Climate Change Efforts
The Russian Ukraine war has made matters worse for pro-climate groups. The world is now aiming to see beyond the Russian gas and oil imports to achieve energy independence.
Europe, which imports the majority of its oil and gas from Russia, has also indicated that it will move past Russia in the near future. And the calls for America to achieve energy independence are already mounting, which demands more use of fossil fuels to eliminate its imports from Russia.
With the chronic inflation on gas stations, these calls are getting popular on a daily basis. So, if Republicans win Congress this year, it will encourage them to even worsen the situation on the climate by passing anti-climate legislation.
This will eventually deteriorate the climate even further, which will increase targets and reduce time.
Obviously, the prevailing policies are too non-ambitious to achieve the climate goal. Even beyond America, there seems to be no will to cap the impending danger which threatens the world with floods, wildfires, food crises, and uncountable dangers.
A Silver Lining in the Cloud: Still the Hope is Present
However, the new report also provides a glimpse of hope. Although carbon emissions are still increasing, the rate of this increase is much less compared to what it was 20 years ago.
This means that the world has responded to the collective threat up to some extent, which has made it possible for the world to avert climate disasters that were going to happen otherwise had these efforts not been made.
The declining price of Clean energy modern-day technologies depict that even if the world does not reduce its emissions by recommended 43 percent by the end of 2030, it will still be able to control it significantly.
Solar panels, for instance, are getting cheaper compared to the 2010s, not to mention that the costs of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles have also nosedived, making it easier for consumers to afford electric cars.
Final Thoughts
At the moment, the world is currently spending $600 billion per year on clean energies. The way out of these crises is to triple that amount and bring it to $1,800 per year. Making this investment should be a brainer, considering that the loss, if this investment is not made, is too high.
For example, just last year, the US suffered a mighty loss of $145 billion in terms of deaths, displacements, droughts, and wildfires.
However, not making this investment would only add chaos to the already mounting worries of humanity.
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