How have we caused this?

Burning of fossil fuels is one of the biggest culprits for climate change. Coal and gas generally burned in power plants to make electric energy. As of 2021, coal and gas make for 45% of production of electric energy in Europe. In the US the situation is much worse, where over 81% of energy production comes from fossil fuels. Another big consumer of fossil fuels is transportation, where oil products are used as automobile or jet fuel for either passengers or cargo. About a third of the oil in the world’s CO2 emissions are caused by burning of oil products.

Land use is another culprit that contributes to release of CO2 in the atmosphere. Forests are large stockpiles of organic carbon, both in the mass of the wood from the trees, but also in the soil, where their roots create a microbiome together with bacteria and fungi. When the forest is cut, the roots decay together with the biome underneath, releasing the stored carbon. Another part of land use is agriculture. The intensive farming methods currently used and supported will till the soil and turn it over, which exposes the soil microbiome. This leads to its death and decay, reducing the amount of organic matter in the ground and its subsequent release into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

Figure 1. Percentage of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere, correlated with the average temperature. A clear correlation and increasing trend can be recognised.

There is a balance between the planet’s carbon and temperature. Artificially tipping that balance has largely unknown consequences, but some of them can be predicted already. These are the so called “tipping points”. There are many reserves of greenhouse gasses on earth, for instance frozen in the polar caps or trapped under permafrost. As temperatures increase and this ice melts, the gasses will get released, amplifying the negative effects in a feedback loop. This is why it’s important to stop the warming of the planet because it is not clear when these tipping points will be reached, and when they are reached, there is no way of reversing them.

Some of the consequences of increasing the temperature of the planet are unstable weather: frequent and intense drought, storms and hurricanes, heat waves, extreme cold. It takes a long time for ecosystems to adapt to changing climate, and the rate at which it’s happening leads to extinctions and destruction of natural habitat. Another large consequence is melting of glaciers, which leads to an increase in sea level causing displacement of people. Unstable weather also makes certain areas unsuitable for living because of intense droughts or frequent flooding, which also causes displacement, particularly in developing countries. Climate refugees might be becoming more and more common in the modern world.

Figure 2. Droughts are a consequence of climate change. This makes food production in certain areas much harder.

Figure 3. Flooding, as a combination of extreme weather and rising sea levels, is a consequence of climate change. The picture is of flooding in Bangladesh in 2007 which killed over 3000 people.

What should be done?

Right now humanity is on a course towards a doomsday scenario. It’s becoming apparent that if we want our future planet to be as habitable as it is today, drastic changes need to be undertaken right now to reduce, and ultimately halt our emissions of CO2 in the near future. This would require us to completely change the way we produce energy, and shift the focus away from fossil fuels. This is difficult because the current growth-oriented capitalistic model of society is very dependent on fossil fuel as a resource for quick and easy growth. Therefore, the most fundamental approach we can take is that of resisting the consumerist approach towards life we’ve been brought up in.

First, we need to recognize our role as a consumer in the society, and understand what consequences our actions have. For instance, buying 1kg of beef is equivalent to burning 20 kg of coal in CO2 and methane emissions. Second thing to recognize are our capacities as citizens of a democratic society. Even though, according to Noam Chomsky, society driven by capitalism curbs the benefits of democracy, an individual still has the power to get involved in the decision making processes of their government, and even more so by acting collectively together with a group of likeminded people. And what better cause to be together about than the imminent crisis our world is facing?

Finally, it’s important to educate future generations in order to build a conscious and sustainable society of the future. The way children are taught in schools influences their outlook on the environment, and their role and connection with it. It is very important to be taught from a young age to appreciate the nature and the benefits we get from the connection with nature. It is also important to teach critical thinking, as well as how to be an active citizen who understands their role in the society, but also the structure of society and power.