The Year of Natural Catastrophe Prompts Increased Attention to Climate Change
The year 2021 has seen a slew of natural catastrophes, including wildfires, floods, storms, and a variety of other events. Day by day, the Earth is becoming inhospitable due to the soaring temperatures that are frying each of us in the scorching sunlight. The increase in the number of floods, combined with other natural disasters such as wildfires, storms, and rising temperatures, has resulted in a global calamity that has affected all sectors of society. If we do not take action now to combat climate change, it will be difficult for our children and grandchildren to live. While global warming is only one of the symptoms of climate change, the term “climate change” refers to the combination of global warming and its side effects, which include glacier melting, rising sea levels, droughts, floods, extreme weather events, and changes in weather patterns, among other things.
It is critical to examine the catastrophic consequences of climate change, as well as the evidence supporting it, and the reasons why companies must take action.
in Data
This chart shows the number of natural disasters that have been officially recorded in the period from 1900 to 2019. These kind of occurrences are becoming increasingly common, and as a society we must pay attention to this growing trend. Go forward in time and imagine how things will look like if the current trend of this graph continues. As a result, the time to act is now, or we will be forced to deal with the dire effects of climate change in the future. Apocalypse Fatigue cannot be ignored, and we must eliminate the psychological barrier that stands in the way of bringing about change. To overcome our inner barriers that prevent us from bringing about change, we must first break through this psychological barrier. All of this may be found in the last section of this post.
This can be even better understood by looking at the changes between 1919 and 2019 (a period of 100 years):
in Data
This graph shows the total number of natural disasters between 1919 and 2019, broken down by category. Only four natural catastrophes occurred in 1919, compared to 361 in 2019, a tremendous increase. The absolute change is simply the increase in the number of extreme events, which is +357. Relative change refers to the change in percentage terms, i.e. absolute change as the proportion of the number of natural disasters in 1919, which is +8925 percent, indicating a significant percent shift from 1919. No one would be able to survive if this continued for another 100 years. Similarly, you may examine the relative change for each of the other categories.
It is also vital to correlate this with the rise in global temperature.
This graph from NASA displays the change in global mean temperature relative to 1951–1980 (a period that is frequently used as a pre-industrial baseline for global temperature goals). The graph shows that the years 2020 and 2016 have both seen record-breaking temperatures since the beginning of data collection in 1880.
Recent catastrophic event of 2021
In this year’s floods, several countries have been impacted, resulting in extensive and widespread damage to infrastructure, agricultural production, human habitation, and other aspects of daily life. Food insecurity is often associated with the consequences of flooding. While food insecurity is only one of the problems caused by flooding, there are other additional terrible and long-lasting consequences of what I refer to as the “triple effect.” Flooding causes the damage of homes, shelters, and infrastructure, which has a significant and negative influence on the economy. Issues like food shortages coming from agricultural production can bring the entire economy to its knees.
You might be wondering what the flood has to do with climate change. Let me explain.
One of the reasons for floods this year is the severe rainfall that certain countries have had this year, which has resulted in flooding. Several of the articles’ authors claim that as the planet warms, more water evaporates from the oceans’, lakes’, and soils’ surfaces. Every 1 degree Celsius temperature increase allows the atmosphere to hold 4 percent more water vapour.
This diagram does an excellent job of explaining the topic.
Graph showing global sea level rise (inches) since 1880. In recent decades, the data from tide gauges has become steeper, and if this trend continues, natural disasters in the form of floods will devastate all of us. You might be surprised to learn that by 2100, approximately 200 million people will live below sea level. Globally, eight of the world’s ten largest cities are located near a coastline.
I’ve focused too much on floods and rising water levels because they dominate the list of the ten most destructive disasters. In addition to floods, other types of water-related hazards such as storms and extremely heavy rainfall are also natural disasters, but as shown above, climate change is the sole cause of all of these occurrences. According to the report, storm-related economic losses total $521 billion, with flood-related losses totaling $115 billion. This is unquestionably a large number, especially given the fact that 200 million people are at grave risk of flooding mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
In addition to floods, there were numerous other occurrences in 2021 that contributed to widespread humanitarian crises, including wildfires, hurricanes, and heatwaves. Not only humans, but also natural habitats — Polar bears are in danger of becoming extinct as the ice on which they rely melts.
Recent flooding events in 2021 are one of the reasons why we should devote our entire attention to climate change and direct our efforts toward finding a sustainable solution to this problem, as we now have the data and research to begin taking action. In fact, now is an excellent time to get started, and if we don’t act quickly, we could face serious consequences later on.
Now that we have sufficient evidence of the catastrophic impact of climate change, let us examine what has caused this climate change and evaluate the reasons for it so that we can then concentrate on what needs to be done in order to avoid such scary consequences of climate change.
Reasons for Climate Change
Our planet is protected from the sun and rain by a thin layer of air. This thin blanket protects us from harmful solar radiation, so why do we have extreme heatwaves every year? The graph below shows the earth getting hotter year by year, which contributes to major natural disasters like the water-related disasters I mentioned earlier.
As well as visible light, the sun sends us infrared radiation that we feel as heat, and ultraviolet radiation that we cannot see or feel. The ozone layer in the Earth’s atmosphere blocks some UV radiation. However, some gases trap this energy into the atmosphere and reflect it back to the surface, warming the earth. This image depicts the greenhouse effect, which is essential for human survival. The earth would be around −18 °C (0 °F) without the greenhouse effect, but too much of it is dangerous.
Now that we understand the greenhouse effect, let us explore the gases that cause some sun rays to be trapped in the atmosphere.
Too much of these greenhouse gases is harmful to the earth, which is why the earth has been boiling rapidly for many years, as shown in figure 3. The graph in figure 3 also shows the highest temperatures in 2016 and 2020. We, humans, are to blame for these extreme temperatures.
Climate change is caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases, which we humans are responsible for. Using this graph, we can see the trend of carbon dioxide emissions increasing year on year, resulting in increased greenhouse gases, which in turn leads to an increase in global temperature, causing problems such as floods, extreme rainfall, and other issues that have already been discussed in the preceding section. As a result of industrialization, we have become so reliant on technology and products that it is becoming increasingly difficult to change the way the industry operates. Time, money, and energy are all required to move towards sustainability. In the latter section, we will talk about the role of financial institutions, governments, private businesses, and individuals in combating climate change.
Even though carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas source, is already present in the atmosphere due to natural processes, human activities are altering it by introducing more into the atmosphere.
Let’s take a look at how different industries contribute to the rise in greenhouse gases.
1. Transportation accounts for the greatest proportion of greenhouse gas emissions.
The majority of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are caused by the combustion of fossil fuels such as petroleum, which includes gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, petrol, LPG, and marine fuel. CO2 emissions from the combustion of oil-derived fuels in the transportation sector contribute significantly to the mismanagement of the atmosphere.
In terms of internal transportation, road vehicles (passenger + freight) account for the highest percentage of CO2 emissions, accounting for 74.5 percent of total CO2 emissions, which is quite significant.
We’ve chosen road vehicles as the focus of our attention in the transportation sector because they contribute significantly to emissions. This shall be discussed in the last section.
2. Electricity, which accounts for 28% of total emissions.
Electricity is generated by the utilization of natural resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas, among others. The burning of fossil fuels pollutes the environment and contributes to global warming by re-accumulating greenhouse gases on the planet’s surface. It is important to remember that electricity is only one component of overall energy consumption, and that in addition to optimizing the electricity mix, we must also concentrate our efforts on optimizing the overall energy mix (transportation, electricity, etc).
We can see from this chart that coal, followed by natural gas, accounts for the majority of electricity production. Coal is the single largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for more than half of all emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustion account for 46 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and coal combustion accounts for 72 percent of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electricity sector.
Coal, rather than natural gas, is the most environmentally damaging energy source. As a result, the most important thing to do is to concentrate on eliminating the use of coal. Natural gas is still the most environmentally friendly fossil fuel because it emits nearly a third less carbon dioxide than coal. However, we still want to move away from gas and toward low-carbon sources such as renewables and nuclear energy in the long run.
Water-based electricity generation, as well as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energy production as well as wave and tidal power, are all examples of environmentally friendly electricity generation. We can see from the graph that, while the use of solar, wind, and other renewables is increasing, it is not increasing at a significantly faster rate. Our goal should be to increase the percentage of renewable energy sources that contribute to the total energy mix over and above fossil fuels.
The point here is to direct our attention away from fossil fuels and toward other renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and others in order to increase the market share of clean electricity generation systems.
3. Industry: It accounts for 22 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.
When it comes to industry, you might be surprised to learn that one tonne of steel produced generates nearly two tonnes of CO2 emissions, accounting for up to 5 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. That is a significant number, and this will be one of the main points of discussion in the following section.
Cement is another important industry to take into consideration. After water, concrete is the most widely used resource on the planet. The cement industry, according to Chathamhouse, is responsible for approximately 8% of global CO2 emissions. Concrete is used in the construction of nearly every important structure (made using cement and some other materials). This link will take you to a list of the ten best concrete structures.
The desire for well-structured and impressive buildings, architectural style, and the use of concrete have all resulted in an increase in cement production, which is evident from the graph, but it appears to have reached a plateau in recent years.
There are two important points to consider in this context.
- The first is that cement plants all over the world use approximately 90 percent coal, despite the negative environmental consequences.
- Another important point to note is that the process of producing “clinker” is the one that produces the greatest amount of CO2 in the cement-making process.
Another industry to consider is the chemical industry, with the emphasis here being on the fertilizers that farmers use to provide crops with the nutrients they require in order to grow. The process of ammonia production (which is done at high temperatures by burning fossil fuels) for use as a fertiliser around the world has resulted in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
As a result, it is critically important to investigate these sectors in order to combat climate change.
4. Residents and Buildings (12%)
Electricity is used by residents and buildings for a variety of purposes including lighting, appliances, cooking, and heating. This increases the amount of energy we use, which comes from burning fossil fuels. Commercial buildings, such as offices, restaurants, and shops, consume a significant amount of electricity as well.
The emphasis here is on concentrating on sustainable business practises that maximize energy efficiency. Individuals must also play a crucial role in the fight against climate change.
5. Agriculture:
The agricultural operations, such as crop and animal production, that contribute to the emission of considerable volumes of greenhouse gases are the primary emphasis here. I will not, however, go into great detail on this topic. Crop burning is another activity that contributes to the release of greenhouse gases.
Role of private corporations and individuals
Let us now look at ways to fight climate change by utilizing the critical role played by private corporations, non-governmental organizations, governments, and individuals in the process. I shall limit my attention to private businesses and individuals.
The role of private businesses in the fight against climate change is as follows:
The private sector, after all, is the only one that can come up with a variety of green industrial use cases to combat the current situation of climate catastrophe. As an example, consider the transportation sector, which accounts for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from road vehicles, as stated in the preceding paragraphs. This is a crucial topic to investigate, and what the automobile manufacturers are doing right now is directing their attention toward electric vehicles. Profit is, of course, the most significant motive for private firms, and the amount of profit they make is determined by the size of the market and the segment they operate in.
A glance at this graph reveals ample information on the growth and potential of electric vehicles, including an expected 98 percent year-on-year increase from 2020 to 2021. As public awareness of climate change grows, as does the desire of governments, policymakers, and industry to transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources around the world, corporations have begun to work on this issue, and investors see this as an opportunity to make long-term investments.
This is one of the examples of the huge surge in stock prices that has been noticed recently.
Tesla, Ford, and Mercedes are among the major automakers with ambitions to convert their vehicles to electric power.
As a result, the private sector is highly motivated to invest in clean energy, both because the world’s attention is focused on it and because financial institutions are striving to invest in green enterprises rather than traditional fossil fuel-based companies, as previously stated.
The transportation industry has a lot of potential here, as you can see. There are a plethora of diverse commercial applications for transportation, and organizations that invest in this specific industry stand to gain tremendously from their efforts.
Electricity is another big sector in which private enterprises can make significant contributions by investing. According to the CEO of Apple, combatting climate change should be the mission of every company, and that we must all work together to counteract the effects of global warming. I’ll speak especially about the Apple supplier clean energy initiative in this section, and I’ll urge that every private company adopt this method as well. Apple began its Supplier Clean Energy Program in 2015 in order to advance clean energy across the manufacturing supply chain. By 2020, they had achieved their initial aim of bringing 4 gigawatts of clean energy into their supply chain, surpassing their previous target of 3 gigawatts. Apple’s goal is to produce world-class products through environmentally friendly production methods. Of course, this strategy will have a multiplier effect on the entire industry because everything is interconnected. This is the strategy on which all private enterprises must now concentrate their efforts. This will also result in a reduction in the amount of present and future taxation imposed as a result of negative externalities.
This global initiative, known as the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), is led by 24 top cement producers, who together account for more than 30 percent of the world’s cement production. The Sustainable Development Initiative (CSI) has integrated sustainable development into the business strategy of all of its members. It is essential that a large number of other cement companies join this particular initiative.
As part of its new sustainability strategy, leading FMCG corporation P&G has set a new goal of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its entire value chain by the year 2040, from raw materials to retailer. As we all know, greenhouse gas emissions can occur along the entire value chain, from raw materials to retailers, through activities such as transportation, business travel, fuel and energy activities, waste generated in operations, capital goods, and distribution. This is a truly remarkable move by an FMCG company, and it will undoubtedly have a multiplier impact on the transition from a fuel-based economy to a green economy, with the green system becoming a part of the industry’s value chain as a result of its implementation. This should serve as a model for all other FMCG companies.
Role of Individuals
In terms of individuals, I would suggest five major psychological obstacles or inner defences that impede them from working on climate change. I got this from one of the TED talks.
1. Distance
We believe the problem is far away from us, so why should we be concerned about glaciers melting in Antarctica when it makes no difference to us? This physical distance prevents an individual from working on climate change.
2. Doom
This is merely a sense of helplessness; it is fear fueled by reports of floods, storms, and landslides that cause us to overlook all of these difficulties.
3. Dissonance
This is a psychological phrase that refers to a scenario containing opposing attitudes, beliefs, or actions. We want to hear what makes us happy, so for example, you may be aware that car fuel generates emissions, but you disregard this and begin looking for other reasons. There are several instances of this.
4. Denial
This is another example of ignorance, since we do not want to find ourselves in a tense or stressful situation.
5. Identity
Most people believe that climate change is not their responsibility, but rather the responsibility of the government or policymakers. Some people have conservative views, while others have liberal values.
However, we may turn these five Ds into five Ss in order to overcome these defenses.
1. Social
Change Distance to Social. Make use of the power of social media to effect positive change in society. Hold awareness seminars and build a strong network to ensure that everyone is aware of the sustainable practises that should be followed. This would also shift consumer demand away from unsustainable items and toward sustainable ones, as well as urge private companies to place a greater emphasis on sustainability.
2. Supportive
Change Doom to Supportive. Create the impression among people that striving to combat climate change has a positive influence on their health and that they are living a better lifestyle as a result. Individuals will be encouraged to contribute actively to this cause as a result of this.
3. Simple
Change Dissonance to Simple actions. As we all know, actions speak louder than words; therefore, take simple actions. As an example, using smaller plates in restaurants will result in lesser food consumption, which in turn will result in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector.
4. Signal
5. Stories
Human beings are fascinated by stories. Share success stories with the rest of the community.
Conclusion
A detailed discussion of the devastating consequences of climate change is provided in this post, along with current event examples and statistical numbers from the past, to demonstrate why we must act now. Otherwise, future generations will suffer. Following that, we examined some of the causes of climate change, which is critical in determining if businesses or individuals are required to make changes and adopt sustainable methods to address this problem. We went into great length about the various industries that release greenhouse gases, and this will, of course, prompt you to consider various use cases or startup ideas in order to determine which sectors organizations or people may operate in. At the end, we emphasised the critical role that private firms and people play in effecting change. Different case studies of corporations were presented, as well as the reasons why other companies should follow their lead in order to establish a green and sustainable economy. This is a good moment to pause and think about it.
