Climate pledges 'like tackling COVID-19 without social distancing'


Date:
September 24, 2020
Source:
University of Exeter
Summary:
Current global pledges to tackle climate change are the equivalent
of declaring a pandemic without a plan for social distancing,
researchers say.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Current global pledges to tackle climate change are the equivalent of
declaring a pandemic without a plan for social distancing, researchers
say.


==========================================================================
In the Paris Agreement, nations agreed to limit global warming to "well
below 2DEGC." But University of Exeter scientists say governments are
engaged in "climate hypocrisy" by publicly supporting the agreement while subsidising the fossil fuel industry, destroying forests and pursuing
other harmful policies.

Writing in the journal Global Sustainability, they highlight two other
crises - - ozone depletion and the COVID-19 pandemic -- and call for
similar action on the climate crisis.

The call comes as world leaders including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson discuss climate action and a "sustainable recovery" from the pandemic
at the UN General Assembly.

"Restoring the ozone layer and minimising the COVID-19 pandemic both
required governments to enact specific legislation to address the precise causes of these problems," said Professor Mark Baldwin, of Exeter's
Global Systems Institute (GSI).



==========================================================================
"By contrast, Paris Agreement commitments are the equivalent of intending
to restore the ozone layer without a plan for eliminating ozone-depleting substances, or intending to end the COVID-19 pandemic without a plan
for social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus.

"We know the climate crisis is caused mainly by fossil fuels.

"Current climate and energy policies are therefore nonsensical because
they condemn greenhouse gas emissions by individuals while promoting
fossil fuel production.

"Today we have governments publicly supporting the Paris Agreement, but simultaneously opening new coal mines, destroying forests, supporting
fracking, subsidising the fossil fuel industry and supporting fossil fuel projects in the developing world." Professor Tim Lenton, director of the
GSI, said: "The fundamental reason we are not solving the climate crisis
is not a lack of green energy solutions -- it is that many governments
continue energy strategies that prioritise fossil fuels.



========================================================================== "These entrenched energy policies subsidise the discovery, extraction, transport and sale of fossil fuels, with the aim of ensuring a cheap, plentiful, steady supply of fossil energy into the future.

"Some governments are introducing policies to reduce demand for fossil
fuels and shift to green energy sources, but these policies are not
enough.

"Green energy is not yet replacing fossil fuels -- it is merely
augmenting it.

Energy from both fossil fuels and green sources is increasing.

"Individual behaviour choices -- such as diets and modes of travel --
are important, but more fundamental is to replace the supply of fossil
fuels with green energy." The researchers call for a "comprehensive
global plan" to solve the climate crisis.

They make seven recommendations:
1. End all government subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.

2. Ban all exploration for new oil/gas/coal reserves anywhere in
the world.

3. Enforce a policy that no public money can be spent on fossil fuel
infrastructure anywhere in the world.

4. Stop justifying fossil fuel use by employing carbon offset schemes.

5. Redirect most fossil fuel subsidies to targeted programmes for
enabling
the transition to a green energy economy.

6. Minimise reliance on future negative-emissions technologies. They
should
be the subject of research, development, and potentially deployment,
but the plan to solve the climate crisis should proceed on the
premise that they will not work at scale.

7. Trade deals: Do not buy products from nations that destroy
rainforests in
order to produce cheaper, greater quantities of meat and
agricultural products for export.

Professor Baldwin added: "To bring about real change, we must address
complex issues involving politics, fake news, human behaviour, government subsidies, taxes, international trade agreements, human rights, lobbying
by the fossil fuel industry, and disinformation campaigns."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Exeter. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Mark P. Baldwin, Timothy M. Lenton. Solving the climate crisis:
lessons
from ozone depletion and COVID-19. Global Sustainability, 2020;
3 DOI: 10.1017/sus.2020.25 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200924082709.htm

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