UN: This is a code red for humanity 2:52
(CNN Spanish) -
The report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) could not be more forceful: time is running out to avoid a global climate catastrophe.
What is the cause and how can the devastation be stopped?
Among other things, the report released Monday notes that human activities are responsible for the 1.1 ° C warming that has been recorded on Earth from pre-industrial times to date.
"The report shows that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1 ° C of warming from 1850-1900 (until now); and it considers that, on average, over the next 20 years they will be expects the global temperature to reach or exceed 1.5 ° C warming, "says an IPCC statement.
The current warming of 1.1 ° C is causing changes in the climate;
for example, the rise in sea level, which is already irreversible for the next hundreds or even thousands of years, adds the IPCC.
The danger of climate change "is already here"
"The conclusion (of the report) is that we have zero years left to avoid dangerous climate change, because it is already here," Michael E. Mann, lead author of the report that the IPCC published in 2001, told CNN.
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Historic heat waves.
Fires.
More floods worldwide.
Melting ice at the poles.
The climate crisis caused by humanity is making these events worse, which also happen more frequently.
The IPCC says that heavy rains that used to occur once every 10 years now occur 30% more often.
Globally, droughts that may have occurred only once every 10 years or so now occur 70% more frequently, according to the report.
The connection to climate change is particularly strong in the western United States, which is experiencing a historic multi-year drought that has depleted reservoirs and caused water shortages.
Amid relentless drought and record heat, wildfire seasons are now longer and result in more destructive fires.
Six of the 10 largest fires in California occurred in 2020 or 2021, according to the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"Unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting global warming to close to 1.5 ° C or even 2 ° C will be unattainable," the report says, adding that the current estimate is that we will reach or even exceed 1.5 ° C in the next 20 years.
READ: Were Wild Weather Events Caused by Climate Change? Scientists can now say "yes" with confidence
What to do?
Produce electricity with renewable energy
For Dolores Barrientos Alemán, representative in Mexico of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the biggest message that the report leaves is the call to action, because despite the situation there is still an opportunity to limit the effects of the climate change.
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We still have at least these ten years, this decade, to be able to change the trajectories that we have been observing in greenhouse gas emissions," Barrientos Alemán said in an interview with CNN.
However, to achieve this, changes must be generated from now on, such as moving much more quickly to the use of renewable energies to produce electricity.
"For many years we have produced electricity by burning fossil fuels: oil and its derivatives. Right now, renewable energies, mainly solar and wind, are much cheaper anywhere in the world, much cheaper to generate electricity than continue burning oil and its derivatives, "said Barrientos.
The UNEP representative added that in order to produce electricity with renewable energy, there must be more training at all levels of government to understand that fossil fuels have higher operating costs.
Likewise, this training must be successfully transmitted to micro, small and medium-sized companies, which in Mexico represent almost all of the companies in the country.
"Of Latin America and the Caribbean, for example, Mexico is one of the most industrialized countries. So, in the case of Mexico, the transition to a cleaner energy matrix is relevant. In the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean they already have somehow a relatively clean energy matrix, "said Barrientos.
Reduce meat consumption to stop the destruction of forests and jungles
Despite the fact that many Latin American countries already have this relatively clean energy matrix, the big problem throughout the region is the loss of forests and jungles, which is connected to our consumption habits, Barrientos said.
"The loss of forests and jungles is the strongest impact we have in general in Latin America. For example, the Amazon, how it is destroyed year after year and many hectares of primary forests and forests are lost due to this change in land use by agriculture and livestock. It is the most important cause of greenhouse gas emissions that we have in the region, "he said.
A 2018 report called 'Creating a Sustainable Food Future' notes that by 2050 the demand for food of animal origin could increase by 70%.
"The irony is that this voracious consumption has not necessarily improved the quality of human life. In addition to the fact that many of us eat more food of animal origin than is considered healthy, livestock production is one of the sectors that contributes the most climate change, "UNEP notes in a blog post.
READ: Chef Says You Can Fight Climate Change If You Cook Like Your Mom (Really) Did
Eating less meat can lower methane levels
Therefore, moving to a diet where vegetables and fruits are protagonists can help the climate and, at the same time, the land is used for other purposes.
"A global shift towards plant-rich diets would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce water consumption and, according to researchers from the British think tank Chatham House supported by UNEP, could release three-quarters of the world's farmland to be used for other uses, "the publication adds.
Dr. Francisco Estrada Porrúa, coordinator of the Climate Change Research Program (PINCC) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told CNN that limiting the consumption of meat will help reduce greenhouse gases such as methane.
The IPCC report indicates that reducing gases such as methane and other air pollutants will have benefits for the planet and for our health.
Individual actions help, but governments must do more
Estrada Porrúa and Barrientos Alemán commented that the following individual actions are very important to combat climate change:
Use the car more reasonably.
Switch to other methods of transportation such as cycling.
Lower your meat consumption.
Reduce our consumption pattern in general (from the clothes we buy to the electricity we use).
If you have the economic possibilities, move at home to electricity produced by renewable energy.
READ: What you can do to avoid climate collapse
However, in addition to individual actions, both specialists agree that it is of vital importance that governments give greater emphasis to the problem of climate change.
The UNEP representative in Mexico stressed that it is encouraging that there are global commitments in the Paris Agreement for the reduction of greenhouse gases.
However, he added that there must be greater pressure on the rulers to verify that these agreements are fulfilled, something that has been happening from the younger generations as in the case of Greta Thunberg.
"It is very important to understand that children, young people and future generations are the ones who in a few dozen years will experience the great impacts of climate change. And I think that is why there are such important movements at a global level of young people who are putting more and more pressure on the political class, which is generally mature or very old people, to make these fundamental changes as quickly as possible, "said Barrientos Alemán.
The foregoing, he added, indicates that we must organize as a society "to increasingly demand that our representatives take the environmental and climate agenda really seriously, because it is a national security agenda."
Investment in science and technology
This country would be better prepared for a global collapse 0:43
Estrada stressed the need to put more pressure on governments to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, which requires coordinated action at the international level.
And, in addition to this, the PINCC coordinator pointed out that it is necessary to demand more investment in science and technology, since scientific research is needed to decipher how to adapt to the climate changes that we are already experiencing.
"What we sometimes forget is that we already have climate change that is dangerous for us and for today's ecosystems (...). One very important thing is to learn more about climate change and understand how we can adapt to these changes that we know that they are going to happen. And a very important way is investment in research, science and technology, "said Estrada Porrúa.
This is important, in the case of Mexico, because it will provide the bases to spread more about the subject and that people know about it;
and for more people to come to the country to study climate change.
Likewise, by giving the problem the importance it deserves from the public sector, it will also be possible to attract private investment, both to finance research and to finance possible solutions and possible adaptation actions.
"We need to do this. We don't have time to procrastinate and say 'Well, maybe in five years we can start taking measures to limit the impacts of climate change.' We no longer have that luxury," concluded the UNAM specialist.
Global warming climate change