How to Save your Butt. And Mine. (Part II)
So, where were we? Right, why we need to save our’s and our world’s butt and what the hell needs to happen in order not to melt away (in case you randomly landed here and wonder what this is all about, you can click here).
So, let’s talk about what needs to happen to save our world’s butt.
In short, we need to stop climate change and proactively work towards full decarbonization of the world’s economies. We need to take carbon out of our system. And we need to do it fast.
Yep, that’s a tough one. Very tough one. But the good thing is stopping pollution and getting to zero is a realistic goal if we do it now.
Hey, are you following? We have a realistic chance here to reverse global warming [hallelujah!]. And here’s what we need to do:
Stopping pollution
The world of tomorrow needs to provide more energy. But this energy provision is not to release any additional GHG. Wait, is that even possible?
The answer is yes. It is called clean energy. Studies and projections by Project Drawdown show that especially the 2020s will give us the opportunity to deploy cleaner and more cost-effective options and enable us to say “adios” to the daily usage of fossil fuels. But what are we talking about concretely?
- For example, hydro energy or solar and -(offshore) wind energy. Solar and wind today provide around 17%, and 7% of the energy worldwide respectively. Wind and solar energy fall in price every day. Switching to solar panels bears an attractive opportunity to use cleaner energy in your house, flat or cabin in the woods. Although, broadly speaking the energy storage and its intermittency today is still subject to improvement and bears limits. But innovation is on its way and countries like Iceland are setting the ultimate example by already running on 100% renewables. Still, until we are able to catch up and say goodbye to coal & other fossil friends, we will need bridging solutions.
- Biomass energy, which consists of agricultural residues, animal and plant waste, could work as such a bridging solution. Until energy storage grows and the grid becomes more flexible, energy generated from biomass can help meet electricity demand, complementing variable wind and solar power. Thus, it can support the world’s transition from fossil fuel power to 100 per cent clean and renewable energy.
- Geothermal energy is a source that I recently came to explore with fascination. It is heat that is continuously produced within the earth. It already has been a successful, bridging solution if we take a closer look direction Iceland (unfortunately, it also bears certain limitations, as it is only available in certain places around the world and comes with high upfront costs).
- And now it’s time to talk about nuclear power. Yes, this could be taken into high consideration when we want to embrace a cleaner and a bridging solution. Sure, we would need to solve the safety issues around the storage of radioactive waste. And yes, also finding mechanisms to prevent the usage of uranium, nuclear’s fuel, for weapons will be on the menu. But looking at France, its total electricity generated by nuclear in 2018 was 71%. And its share of total energy in the US is roughly 20%. Nuclear energy bears a grant opportunity for quickly distancing ourselves from fossil fuels and also provide a low-cost and sustainable source of energy for developing countries. We need to push the conversation here.
In sum, renewables today are very affordable and can be effectively deployed in our building and transportation sectors. We will likely need to bridge our current shortcomings with nuclear power, large hydropower and (yes I am sorry) prolonged use of natural gas (meaning coal and the other ff’ s). But for all the ones worrying about high costs: a clear and especially quick transitioning will definitely pay off economically: The IRENA Roadmap to 2050 report estimates that over a period of 30 years, a renewable-dominated energy sector would save trillions of dollars in operational costs.
Thus, our countries should deploy the tools we already have. Only much faster and smarter than we have done so far.
Catching pollution
Also, we will not only need to eliminate CO2 but also take it out of the atmosphere. We gotta catch it.
And in case you might wonder, carbon itself is not a local pollutant. It mixes in the global atmosphere in a matter of days. So it doesn’t really matter whether it’s a coal plant in China or a coal plant in Germany, as the heating effect for the entire globe is the same. So what to do?
- One of the most effective measures to take CO2 out of the atmosphere proves to be direct air capture (DAC) which is a technology capturing carbon directly from the air (take a look at these two companies to get more in-depth information). And then there are carbon sinks.
- Carbon sinks are territories that naturally store and absorb C02. Such sinks are soil, oceans, peats and forests. The exciting news is that within recent years a lot of companies and startups around the world are dedicating time to research and develop stable DAC models and create widescale carbon sinks (here are some examples).
- reforestation and incentivization measures need to be taken. Forests are natural carbon sinks but due to the widespread deforestation and wildfires, carbon is released every day. Forests usually absorb more carbon than they release. Reforestation measures therefore not only present an opportunity to be nature’s best technology to lock away carbon and lead to cleaner air and habitats but also are fundamental components for the world’s biodiversity recovery.
Governments could incentivize their citizens and landowners with grants to replant native trees. A best practice example is Costa Rica’s government incentivization for reforestation measures.
While in 1900 Costa Rica’s landscape was 70% covered with tropical rainforest, the ’80s brought uncontrolled logging and deforestation. The rainforest-covered land was reduced to 15%. Now, 25 years later, Costa Rica is back to 50%. And it is still growing!
Challenging our operative systems
We need to reinvent our operative systems.
- Especially in agriculture, we need to find a new way of regenerative farming and enhance a food system transformation away from only land-horizontal food production. For example, urban farming enables farmers to commercial grow food in cities. Besides shorter distances to customers and therefore the reduction of transportation emissions, growth measures can take place everywhere around you. No joke! We’re talking car parks, rooftops, external city building walls and underground. Though, this is only one way to address the problem around agriculture methods. The ultimate solution to fix the problem around agricultural problems lies in the way of common farming methods. Thus, we need to develop better grazing systems that lock up soil carbon and embrace organic farming procedures on a wide scale. We also need innovation and monetary incentives to help other parts of the food system, especially in tackling food waste. There will be the need to invent new technologies, making things faster and better. And these inspiring startups are on a mission.
- Then, there is the construction and building sector which will need to face structural, operational changes too. If you go back to the first part of the article, making things count for 31% of the total GHG emissions. We definitely need new solutions for these industries and find alternatives for steel and cement usage as well as its production procedures. Startups like Betolar and these ones are at the forefront of change.
- Also, let’s talk about our means of transportation. Besides the need to speed up the electrification process in the automotive sector, the aviation sector will need to undergo several shifts too. The good news is, that there already seem to be promising development approaches in the making when it comes to jet fuel substitutes (currently there is a mixture of hydrogen-fuelled cells and sustainable biofuels made from plant and algal oils under research) and fully electric and hydrogen aviation planes.
- Airlines today are contemplating the integration of CO2-emissions offsets into their ticket prices. Well, we need to be careful here: such measures will not be a long-term approach to reverse climate change. Individuals are given the possibility to compensate for their emissions through buying offset credits and support reforestation projects (and also their personal karma). This risks becoming a distraction to what we really need to achieve: a massive reduction of emissions entering the atmosphere. Thus, the focus lies on how to cut down on long-term emissions for any company, groups and individuals and only consider offsetting possibilities as a part of a broader emission reduction strategy. Otherwise, the actual problem will only be postponed. And we don’t have time for that to go to zero. Wait, zero? Zero what?
Zero-to-Hero, 2050
The things we do to get a small reduction by 2030 are radically different from the things we’d do to get to zero[emissions] by 2050. We will need to create, focus and roll out breakthrough technologies that can take us all [the] rest of the way. To 2050 -Bill Gates, 2020
Here is what I need you to know, a 50 per cent drop in emissions would not stop the rise in temperatures. It would only slow things down. This means, things would only be postponed rather than leading to long-term prevention. So we can’t rely on taking small steps. Why? Well, if our aim is to only reduce a specific amount of emissions by 2030, we’ll only focus on the efforts that will get us to this goal. But such efforts make it harder or actually impossible to reach the ultimate goal of getting to zero emissions in 2050. And butts, we are here for long-term success, global adoption of common and collaborative goals to reach zero.
Experts are convinced that it would already be a big step forward to globally adopt a carbon tax. This measure would put a high global price on all carbon emissions and works as a penalty on all emitters. While countries like China, Russia, India and Middle Eastern ones do not seem to have any rapid interest in adopting such tax soon, Finland and Sweden adopted such a tax already in the ’90s. They effectively moved the focus away from fossil fuels in many sectors while nurturing steady economic growth.
So. Very briefly, that’s what I found out would need to happen, to be deployed, and generally be done in order to save our world’s butt. All our countries need to nurture sustainable innovation and subsidize quick and clean transitions. Well, this is a lot to ask, right? Yes, but I never said we’re talking easy-peasy here. This is an absolute challenge. But, as mentioned above, it is a solvable one! We have a realistic opportunity to save this earth if our countries work together and speed up all necessary procedures.
Oh, and FYI: it is not just our country’s leaders and politicians. It will also be you. Yes, I hope you might wonder now what the hell you could do specifically to save your butt and also mine! So, do you?
Well, I am happy to tell you all about it here, in Part III.