The leading international body for the assessment of climate change, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), doesn’t refrain from speaking directly and plainly as regards the human impact on the physical environment. In its latest report, the IPCC concludes that the effect of human-caused climate change is severe and widespread, yet it’s still possible to limit global warming, even if some effects will be felt for centuries. The IPCC is the scientific group put together by the United Nations to monitor and examine the factors that cause the planet to warm. Every report highlights different aspects of climate change.
From downpours and flooring to heat waves and wildfires, there’s no shortage of examples. Progress has been mainly on the sidelines, with several countries working together to reduce emissions of methane. Nevertheless, there’s little incentive for the most pressing issue – financing renewable energy development in the world’s poorest countries, as well as helping them adapt to the ongoing effects of climate change. The planet is on the brink of reaching the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold by 2030, but there’s reason to believe it will cross the line sooner. There would be increased risks to health, food security, livelihoods, water supply, and economic growth.
What Are the Signs of The Earth’s Unequivocal Climate Emergency
The world must join forces to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius because going over this average would bring about far greater consequences, such as more intense storms, longer heatwaves, or larger wildfires. We’re now in the midst of a climate emergency, with far worse to come if we continue to do things the way we’ve been doing them. The science of climate emergency is well-established:
- The carbon dioxide levels are the highest in human history. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has hit a historic high, with levels inconceivable for four million years. If we don’t stop greenhouse gas emissions, superstorms, droughts, and heat waves will become more common and more extreme. The remaining budget to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is insignificant – 250 gigatonnes.
- Sea levels are rising faster than ever before. The world’s seas have absorbed more than 90% of the heat from these emissions. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the sea surface height has increased over eight inches since the 1880s and is forecasted to rise by 12 inches by 2050. The outcome is the erosion of the beaches, the loss of marshes and wetlands, and the flooding of the deltas.
- The world is thirsty because we’re hungry. There’s a crucial relationship between water and the production of food. The agricultural industry is the biggest consumer, accounting for almost 80% of the freshwater used. Major droughts in Chile and the United States have impacted agricultural production while diminishing surface and groundwater reserves. For the first time in decades, the world is getting hungrier and thirstier.
- Average wildlife populations have dropped considerably. The Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged due to habitat loss, species overexploitation, pollution, and climate change. In the meantime, people continue to clear forests and consume beyond the limits of the planet. The full effect and impact on biodiversity and how life may adapt is still unknown.
- The Arctic Sea ice is shrinking. The Arctic is connected to the rest of the world by the climate system, the planet’s atmosphere, and ocean currents. The ice is shrinking by an unprecedented rate in the last 1500 years, responding directly to global warming. According to the latest IPCC report, the Arctic Sea ice will reach its minimum extent before 2050, which translates into more extreme winters.
The good news is that we have the prerequisites to reduce our carbon footprint, adapt to what’s happening or what will happen, create jobs, restore the environment, and encourage good investments. You, too, should push for social change. Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires working as part of a group. Actions can be triggered by governments or non-state actors, namely, the private sector. Speaking of which, an ever-increasing number of companies ascertain that reducing their greenhouse gas emissions is an excellent investment, not just an environmental and humanitarian imperative. It’s a condition that must be fulfilled before economic progress can occur.
The Role of Business in Tackling the Climate Emergency
The best way forward is together. At present, the economy is linear (the take-make-waste economy), focused on profitability. In the Middle East, peer-to-peer and secondary marketplaces are mature, and many are leveraging existing technologies to create circular values. Recycling and waste management companies stand in prominent locations around the globe. Small and medium-sized businesses are implementing strategic changes to mitigate the risks of an unmanageable disaster, with investor, consumer, and client expectations playing an important part. Examples of changes applied include recycling cardboard so that fewer trees get cut down, which use the carbon dioxide from the air to grow. A specialised machine is used to compact and bundle waste for convenient recycling – it’s a cardboard baler machine.
Organisations are well aware of the fact that they must abandon resource-intensive business models in favour of circular business models, yet there’s a lot to do, and entrepreneurs don’t always know where to start. To prepare for the circular economy trends, it’s necessary to:
- Get a good understanding of your material footprint
- Become familiar with the law
- Think about what’s relevant to your sector, values, and your purpose
Corporate climate action sends a message to the government to meet and even strengthen its commitment under the Paris Agreement, halving carbon emissions. To be more precise, businesses play an important part in the race to resilience, putting people and nature first. Frontline communities can build resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme heat, sea-level rise, drought, and flooding, to mention just a few. Collective efforts are of the essence because the world is deeply affected by climate shocks.
Concluding Thoughts
To sum up, the world is in a state of climate emergency, meaning there’s an urgent need to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit warming (and its impact on the environment and humanity). As highlighted by the IPCC, taking action now can secure our future, and the consequences of inaction are dire. The climate emergency brings obvious risks to businesses, but it can be tackled successfully to come out with a better world.
