The year is coming to an abrupt end. He started wearing blue.
January 2021 marked beginning of the Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development. This was proclamated by the United Nations and will continue until the end of 2030.
Josep Llus Pelegr, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences CSIC (ICM-CSIC), has explained to us what the goal of this initiative is: to promote management of oceans and coasts based scientific knowledge. This makes healthy oceans one of our pillars to the progress of all humanity.
It will be difficult, if it is not impossible, for sick seas to sustain sustainable development.
They are home to a great biodiversity and act as a regulator of greenhouse gases.
Oceans 21 was born out of the beginning of this decade.
It has many articles that have been published over the past few months. They discuss the current situation in the major oceans and some of the main issues they face like noise pollution and climate change.
A new IPCC report
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released its most comprehensive report on climate change science since 2013.
The evaluation provides new evidence to support the claim that climate change is due to human activities. The analysis shows that climate change is occurring at an alarming rate.
Fernando Valladares from the National Museum of Natural Sciences believes that reducing greenhouse gas emissions will require slowing down economic growth, reorganizing energy generation, transforming transportation, reducing intensive farming and livestock, and transforming urban areas.
However, reversing this process is becoming more difficult. Manuel de Castro Muoz de Lucas Professor of Earth Physics, University of Castilla-La Mancha, points out that even if emissions were drastically reduced, the global average temperature would still need to return to its normal levels in a few centuries. pre-industrial.
2021, a year full of extremes
This year, there have been some signs of a climatic acceleration. It was first presented in Spain, where it was met with intense snow and cold that paralyzed entire towns.
Filomena also caused severe damage to families in energy poverty as Mara Teresa Critu Vilches (Eduardo Torroja Institute of Construction Sciences – CSIC), Miguel ngel Navas Martn and Miguel ngel Navas Martn at the Carlos III Health Institute).
Unusual heat waves in the USA and Canada caused unusual heat waves that triggered floods and storms throughout Germany. Antonio Ruiz de Elvira Professor of Applied Physics at University of Alcal says that the problem in all cases is that there aren’t any protocols to deal with these phenomena.
The fires were the other mainstays of summer. The current generation is considered to be sixth. They are becoming more ferocious and harder to extinguish.
Rosa Mara Canals, professor of Agri-Food Engineering and Rural Areas at The Public University of Navarra, says that “they release such an energy that they can develop their own behavior and generate erratic winds which allow them to spread in an unpredictable way.”
Professor at the University of Lleida Vctor Resco assures us we are entering an era of fires that cannot be put out, those that can burn for several weeks or months and only go out when it rains.
The climate summit
2021 has been said goodbye to another important United Nations initiative: the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( COP26 ), that was held in Glasgow last October.
Pedro Linares (Comillas Pontifical University), Anna Traveset IMEDEA – CSIC – UIB), Cristina Linares Gil, Julio Daz – Carlos III Health Institute), Gemma Durn Romero (Autonomous University of Madrid), Roberto lvarez Florndez (Nebrija University ), and Vctorresco de Dis (University of Lleida ) provided an assessment of the summit.
This meeting was a step forward. The meeting urged countries to review their emission reduction promises. Good intentions have also been expressed in the areas of economic aid to the most vulnerable regions, investment into health projects, and protection of forests.
The meeting left many questions unanswered. One of these is the climate finance plan, and the list of contributors. On the other side, although it was suggested to end coal and aid in fossil fuels, no concrete measures have been taken.
These aspects will take shape over the next few years. The countries have agreed to meet in Egypt on November 2022 to discuss more ambitious emissions reductions. We will see if the countries arrive with their homework completed.
(The Conversation: Lucia Caballero, Environment and Energy/Editorial Co-ordinator)