Talking about the state of our climate is never going to be an easy or comfortable conversation. It's down-right terrifying to think about. But as citizens of this planet, we need to consciously consider what the future looks like, and what we can do to make it as manageable as possible for new generations.
November saw the commencement of COP30 – the annual meeting of nations to discuss UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This year, the meeting occurs auspiciously in Brazil, the home of the climate-affected Amazon Rainforest. A meeting from which the USA Government – one of the world's largest polluters – it noticeably absent. Some of the latest news from the COP30 saw the Alliance of Small Island States demand that the world honour its commitment to 1.5 degree of warming and no higher.
However, on the same day the conference kicked off, The Economist showcased current warming projections. Using data from the Emissions Gap Report of the UN Environment Programme, the publication showed the current global policies mean we're on track to reach 3 degrees of warming – double 1.5 degree threshold needed to avoid catastrophic consequences.
So what happens if we go over 1.5 degrees? The obvious one is that storms, droughts, floods and fires will become fiercer and more frequent; increasing insurance prices, devastating homes and crippling communities. Disappearing ice packs will reduce access to clean drinking water. Weather conditions will become incompatible with farming and food supplies will not only decline but become more expensive. Some Pacific Islands are at risk of being swallowed up entirely by rising sea levels, creating climate change refugees who no longer have a country to call home.
Some Pacific Islands are at risk of being swallowed up by rising sea levels creating climate change refugees who no longer have a country to call home.
There's also a huge human health cost. There are already 489,000 heat-related deaths per year and this will increase. The mortality rate from conditions like undernutrition, malaria and diarrhoea will sky-rocket. Even milder conditions like UTIs and middle ear infections will increase.
When hearing news like this, it is so tempting to tune out. To dissociate or to give up entirely. But ignoring uncomfortable truths comes from the privilege of knowing the worst won't affect you. One could argue it even makes us complicit in intergenerational theft from our future children and their children.
We all need a wake up call. This is real, this is happening. But we also need to understand that individually, we are not powerless in this situation. There is hope, and plenty of it.
We are not powerless in this situation. There is hope, and plenty of it.
Most of us would have heard the statistic that just 100 companies are responsible for 70 per cent of the world emissions. It's easy to assume that individuals have little say in scale to these corporate giants. But I would argue we have a lot more power than we think: we're the customers of these big corporations. We are the people who buy from and fund the companies committing this environmental vandalism. We can vote with our wallets and buy from someone else.
If you lack the time and energy to drill into the nitty gritty of which companies to boycott, fortunately there is an easier and even more impactful change you can make. And it starts by understanding exactly where our carbon emissions are coming from.
The vast majority of carbon emissions contributing to man-made global warming come from the burning of fossil fuels. According to the UN, burning fossil fuels account for "68 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions". So, imagine what could happen if all of us who could switched to renewable energy overnight?
I'm not naive: the switch to renewable energy is not an overnight endeavour. It takes investment, skill retraining and infrastructure. That said, there are currently many Australian energy providers investing heavily in renewables. If you switched to a green energy provider – a task that truly only takes 20 minutes, I've done it – that guilt about leaving the lights on or running the dryer starts to fade away. If you are lucky enough to own a freestanding home, you could even use one of the Government subsidies to install solar; a decision that isn't just about using renewable energy but vastly cheaper electricity bills.
The other most impactful change you can make is possibly easier, and even cheaper than switching to green energy. It is simply the act of buying less. Those innocent, cheap clothes you see on TikTok have had a long journey to transform from mined crude oil into a polyester fabric transported across the globe to be woven into a garment. Bearing this in mind, do you really need that cheap-as-chips cardigan in three colours? Buying nothing is not a feasible solution of course. But looking for quality and buying selectively – fewer but better beauty products, clothes and homewares – is a radical and impactful act.
The goal of confronting the reality and devastating consequences of climate change is not for you to feel despondent and lose all hope. It's to get you to act, because there is still hope, but only if we work together.
This year with the team at the Great Barrier Reef Foundation have helped develop coral nurseries and replant millions of heat-tolerant coral across The Great Barrier Reef. It is an innovation that will likely save this natural wonder from destruction. There are hundreds of other projects just like this, revolutionising conservation and finding to solutions to the complex reality we live in.
But these projects can only exist if people care enough to do something.
But these projects can only exist if people care enough to do something. The future of our climate comes down to us. To consider the decisions we make in our day-to-day lives and to demand our politicians act in the best interest of ourselves and our future generations.
Ignoring uncomfortable truths is no longer an option. There is hope everywhere you look, but you won't see it if your head is buried in the sand.
Image: Silas Baisch on Unsplash
