Numerous public and private leaders have committed to climate action and are
pursuing a target of net-zero emissions by 2050. However, as we enter 2020, the
world faces a fundamental trilemma of wicked, interconnected challenges: global
warming, growing inequality and rising nationalism. Therefore, a well-designed
net-zero strategy must tackle the climate crisis and promote economic
opportunities for the less privileged at the same time.
Global warming increases inequality
It has already made poor countries substantially
poorer and its
effects have hit the less privileged the hardest. Farmers in Malawi are, for
instance, far less able to adapt to droughts than their counterparts in
Switzerland. In Syria, the root cause of the civil war and resulting
turmoil was a severe drought in the years 2006 to 2011, worsened by a warming
climate.
This forced scores of farmers to abandon their cropland and flock to already
crowded cities.
Similarly, the well-intended measures to combat climate change can also lead to
increasing inequality. As the gilets jaunes
protests
in France have shown, an increased fuel tax was perceived as overtly
burdening disadvantaged parts of society. Primarily aimed at slashing pollution,
the planned tax would have passed the costs on to drivers.
Rising inequality could drive millions of people to seek safer havens
Global warming and its effects on inequality are a toxic combination: Due to
rising sea-levels, tens of millions of people in coastal cities may soon become
displaced. Severe
droughts
could render vast amounts of agricultural land in Africa infertile, forcing
farmers to earn their living elsewhere. Threatened by the unexpected rush of
anguished newcomers, locals can and have reacted with strong protectionism, as
seen in 2015 in Europe.
But moving towards nationalism in response to climate-related stressors is a
move in the wrong direction. We risk getting caught up in a vicious cycle: Once
nationalistic parties are in power, it is unlikely that their policies will
accelerate investments into measures that mitigate climate change. On the
contrary, in fact: As we have seen in the United States, growing nationalism
and unwavering support for national fossil fuel production has, under President
Trump,
shifted public funding even further away from addressing climate change and the
social inequality it is creating. Instead of dealing with the root cause, the
government has focused on deploying
military
might against the impacts and unrest caused by a warming climate.
This vicious cycle can be broken
Investments in emissions-reduction projects and clean technologies can provide
opportunities to disadvantaged parts of society, thereby fighting inequality.
Furthermore, they are not only profitable, they also reduce and help avoid
greenhouse gas emissions at the source.
Developing countries lack the means to make the necessary investments to realise
a low-carbon economy. However, if investments are not made today, these
countries risk being locked into carbon-heavy infrastructure and watering down
the possibility to reach the goals of the Paris
Agreement.
Without additional financial backing, decisions to invest in centralised coal
power plants, for instance, may take precedence over improving grid
infrastructure for decentralised renewable energy. Clogged, polluted megacities
will become the norm if plans for clean public transport
infrastructure
and green buildings are not realised.
In very practical terms: over 600 million people in
Africa
are still not connected to the power grid. This means that just 2 out of 5
people across 36 African countries are able to access a reliable supply of
energy. Communities are forced to either deal with no electricity for their
basic needs, or produce electricity by using extremely expensive (and polluting)
diesel generators. Investments in solutions such as solar home systems and
mini-grids
have short payback times and lead to the direct CO2 reductions by avoiding the
need to burn of diesel. They directly promote equal opportunities by allowing
people to switch on lamps to read and study, charge a mobile phone or listen to
the radio.
Many have, for the first time, been inspired and empowered to champion the cause
of climate justice. Throughout 2019, young people around the globe have been
out on the
streets,
moved to a great extent by Greta Thunberg’s call for climate action. The key
demand of her “Fridays for the Future”
protests is for our entire society to
set ambitious targets to achieve net-zero emissions as soon as 2030.
But what does “net zero” really mean?
What measures are companies or governments to take in order to meet this goal?
While the answer depends greatly on the unique situation of a government or
company; a credible, ambitious and meaningful net-zero strategy should strive to
achieve two goals.
To reduce, in the first instance, all possible direct and indirect greenhouse
gas emissions. And, as a second step, to go above and beyond by bringing GHG
emissions outside one’s own system boundaries down to zero — and ideally below
zero to become “climate
positive”
— by investing in projects and technologies that create economic opportunities
for less privileged communities and support the Sustainable Development
Goals. As global warming
increases inequality, we need to make sure the solutions we deploy to solve it
do not.
The world is at a crossroads
As we work towards net-zero, we must make sure to invest in solutions that
mitigate climate change and support those who are hardest hit by the impacts
of it. It is up to us to decide the kind of future we want to leave for our
grandchildren. To achieve the vision of a stable climate, an end to poverty, and
an open, tolerant society, we need high ambitions. But we also need
transformative action. Starting now.
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Renat Heuberger is a pioneer and social entrepreneur in the field of sustainability, climate change, and renewable energy, where he is engaged since over two decades. As a founding partner and CEO of South Pole, he coordinated the set-up of the company's global climate solutions business.
Published Dec 10, 2019 7am EST / 4am PST / 12pm GMT / 1pm CET