Is Tackling Climate Change A Possibility?

There has been one degree Celsius of warming since preindustrial times and this is causing ice caps to melt and sea levels to rise. Moreover, this warming is increasing the frequency and intensity of floods, fires, and storms across the globe. The main question is how to adapt to such rapid environmental change and how to thrive in the face of such dramatic challenges.

In many situations, nature can provide affordable long-term solutions. For instance, absorbing and storing carbon can slow further warming on a global scale. Coastal habitats such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests protect coastlines from the damaging effect of wave erosion in tropical storms. They slow down the intrusion of salt winter that can damage crops livestock. Another way of reducing the detrimental consequences of climate change is to plant and restore trees. This is a climate solution that can engage every single one of us through simple and tangible actions that have a positive impact.

One of the brightest options in the fight against climate change is "plant a tree, save the world". However, it has clearly not worked, because otherwise, we would be fine. We need technological and system-level changes to prevent gas emissions. These changes, in turn, have to be done in combination with a powerful carbon drawdown.

References:

Althor, G., Watson, J.E. and Fuller, R.A., 2016. Global mismatch between greenhouse gas emissions and the burden of climate change. Scientific reports, 6(1), pp.1-6.

Wang, H. and Horton, R., 2015. Tackling climate change: the greatest opportunity for global health. The Lancet, 386(10006), pp.1798-1799.