More and more international meetings are being held to reinforce old commitments and forge new ones against climate change. This is not by chance. We are running out of time and it is necessary to introduce new measures and strategies. There is no place for denial in the face of the catastrophes, that are becoming increasingly frequent and destructive, that ravage the planet.
Governments, companies and citizens must assume a greater degree of commitment and responsibility. Changing the dangerous drift of climate change is no longer a necessity, but an emergency.
The 2020 Summit, the 2030 Agenda, the KLIMA 2050 Strategy… some of the dates may seem distant; but, in order for these projects and their objectives to materialize, we must begin to implement measures immediately.
Voices that call for real change
The objectives of the European Union in the Paris Agreement and in the road map are not enough for us to save the planet and the generations to come. To this resounding affirmation, there are more and more voices like those of the young activist Greta Thunberg or that of the actor and former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not long ago, they both met in Vienna, at an event organized by Schwarzenegger himself, to ask companies to make significant efforts.
The prestigious economist Nicholas Stern, one of the greatest experts on climate change and author of the ‘Stern Report’, left us an international vision of his own regarding the problem. Stern made a severe statement.
WHAT WE DO IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS ON CLIMATE CHANGE WILL BE DECISIVE.
Heat waves will come and droughts that decimate the population as well. We can not prevent this catastrophic scenario unless we take immediate actions on the matter. For Stern, the solution is to “reduce the demand for carbon-intensive products and services.”
The consequiences of denying the evidence
“Our political leaders have squandered throughout decades of inaction and denial,” said Greta Thunberg. And the consequences of this problem are already happening since the “rise of global warming” between 1998 and 2013.
The phenomenon of El Niño is leaving increasing temperature peaks. Even if there were pauses to this trend, the levels will not fall without drastic measures. At the same time, carbon dioxide concentrations are also alarming; these are close to doubling the levels of the pre-industrial era.
The extinction of one million of the nine million species that exist on the planet is another unequivocal sign; but how can we excuse one after another? It is happening globally, in terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
The consequences accumulate, along with the evidence. And there is only one conclusion: we must act now, or soon it will be too late.