CLIMATE ACTION: HOW TECH AND MOBILITY CAN HELP

2015 saw the signing of the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international agreement that seeks to limit global warming to below 2°C, ideally to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels or the time before machines, factories, vehicles, and most other conveniences of life today.

- Chris Noel Hidalgo

The year the treaty was signed, the world had already reached the 1°C global warming mark. In 2020, the world was already at 1.2°C of warming. Unless greenhouse gas emissions — carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and other gases that are byproducts of production, consumption, energy, and electricity use — peak by mid-decade and are halved by 2030, the world has no chance of meeting the ultimate goal of the Paris Agreement.

The numbers may seem minuscule, but the effect is indisputable. Just like how your body feels fine at 37°C but is miserable at 38°C, so is climate change’s effect on Earth and our lives. Glaciers are melting; sea levels are rising; floods have become more common; droughts and heatwaves have gotten hotter; corals are dying; fish stocks and agricultural outputs are reduced; more animal and plant species are being endangered; typhoons have gotten stronger; and many other hazards are arising from our steadily-warming planet.

Just look at the past few years with Category 4 or higher typhoons such as Ulysses, Rolly, Odette, and Karding, and compare that to typhoons a decade ago, and you’ll see that climate change is indeed real, is here, and is getting worse.

But have hope: the growth of greenhouse gas emissions has slowed down. Better yet, the world of technology and mobility has plenty to offer in this fight against climate change.

WE NEED TO BETTER MANAGE ELECTRONIC WASTES