The Urgency of Climate Action: Insights from Leading Experts

The global climate crisis is not a new thing for us and with its growing intensity, we cannot avoid the need for immediate and decisive climate action. Without proper planning and combined efforts, it is far from impossible to avoid or tackle the severe impacts of changing climate. Leading experts from all over the world call for a collective action for the same.

Let’s explore the basic concept of climate action, and its urgency and explore insights from the leading experts to mitigate its effect.

What Is Climate Action​

Climate action refers to all the preventive measures taken up by the state governments, communities, businesses, and individuals to reduce the devastating effects of climate change. All these efforts and measures are aimed at reducing the causes of climate changes such as controlling greenhouse emissions, switching to renewable energy sources, adapting to the changes, and protecting ecosystems. For this, various authorities are taking initiatives such as boosting investment in green technology, encouraging policies to promote sustainability, and fostering cooperation from different international bodies responsible for climate action.

Basically, climate action involves a comprehensive approach to reduce the impact of climate change on this planet and make it a livable place for future inhabitants and this requires collective commitment.

Climate Action Urgency

So, why is there so much urgency for climate change that is talked about?

It’s because recently, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) declared that global earth temperature is expected to rise 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of 2030 if we fail to take any measures. And if this happens, the world will witness drastic changes like floods, droughts, intense heat waves, and disruptions to agriculture and ecosystems.

Urgent climate action means immediate efforts taken on a large scale to combat the climate crisis. The urgency of the climate action comes into the picture owing to the severity of natural disasters and their increasing frequency, which may risk the availability of food and water globally. The urgent actions mainly focus on implementing policies to protect ecosystems, drastically reduce carbon emissions, and promote the use of renewable energy.

One of the major factors that is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions is the burning of fossil fuels. If we can reduce the use of fossil fuels, it can be a significant step in climate action. And this can be done if we can make other energy sources more easily available by offering incentives and making fossil fuels an expensive purchase.

To avoid such disruptions, we need to implement sustained and urgent climate actions to limit global warming. If we delay anymore, it will become expensive and almost impossible to reverse the damage that this climate change will cause. The timely measures will ensure that we prevent it on time and develop resilience to the already irreversible changes that happened. We are already going through negative impacts of climate change including rising sea levels and weather events causing destruction.

Along with the environmental changes, climate change also causes social and economic impacts on our lives. Often, it has been observed that marginalized communities had to mainly bear these impacts caused by climate change. Thus, the government must support them with climate adaptation measures and should work on implementing policies that promote equity and justice.

Climate Change Solutions

If we look towards the potential solutions, there is no dearth of it. However, our main focus remains on reducing carbon emissions and looking for alternatives to energy sources, mainly renewable ones.

• Efforts have been made to use solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy as the power source to be used in homes, industries, factories, and transportation systems. All these energies do not cause any impact on climate change.
• Another very effective solution is protecting and restoring our forests. Forests act as carbon sinks by absorbing extra carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If we conserve our forests, we can reduce carbon emissions and slow down the rate of climate change.
• We must also focus on using energy-efficient appliances and developing low-carbon technology to further reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption.

Many environmentalists, scientists, and climate change experts have also put forth their views and concerns on the accelerating climate change. According to the prominent climate scientists Dr. James Hansen and Dr. Michael Mann, carbon emissions are the main driver of climate change.

Another climate change expert, Dr. Johan Rockstorm stresses on understanding the framework of planetary boundaries. He also warns that we have already crossed the danger mark and are moving towards irreversible consequences.  According to him, the only solution lies in an integrated approach where along with reducing climate emissions, we need to work to rebuild already destroyed natural systems.

Along with presenting views and suggestions, some environmental activists have also made efforts to spread knowledge about climate change and the urgency of climate action. For instance, Greta Thunberg has delivered powerful speeches on climate change and calls for action. Through her impactful deliveries, she has galvanized millions of young people, who are now demanding strong climate policies from the governments across the globe.

Similarly, the IPCC has also been assessing the scientific literature on climate change to offer guidance to climate policymakers. All these efforts focus on advocating global efforts to prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change.

Conclusion

Listening to the experts on climate change and scientific studies makes it clear that the time has come when we take some strong and inclusive measures to combat its effect. For this, we need to first understand that it is not an environmental issue but a human one. All these negative changes will not only impact our environment but also our health, social stability, food security, and prosperity. Therefore, while thinking of solutions we need to address both ecological and socio-economic dimensions of the climate issue.

Climate action is not debatable. We need to do something for our survival. According to experts, solutions are there but implementing them needs ample time and we are running out of time now. So, without waiting any more, we should focus on taking immediate and collective action to prevent further worsening of the situation.