Climate action

The 2019 UN climate change conference was held in Madrid, and global warming and risk once again became the focus of attention.

In addition, the extreme wildfires in Australia during this period have also become the focus of global attention. This fire has resulted in the destruction of more than 6.3 million hectares of land and vegetation and the disappearance of hundreds of millions of animals. Many scholars, scientists, politicians and ordinary people have begun to discuss the impact of the mountain fire. One of the inevitable topics is about climate warming. The fire reportedly released 400 million tons of carbon dioxide. Surprisingly, these 400 million tons have exceeded the total annual emissions of 116 countries with the lowest carbon dioxide emissions in the world.

As we all know, Australia is one of the countries with the largest greenhouse gas emissions in the world, and this year Australia has ushered in a record drought and heat, which has led to more and more discussions on climate issues among Australian people. The aggravation of climate change makes Australia prone to extreme wildfires, which in turn affect Australia. Obviously, if the Australian government and people do not take measures, it will be a vicious circle.

NASA’s recent photos show that the smog from Australian wildfires has come on a “global trip,” which is likely to trigger irreversible climate change.

In addition, the wildfires in California and the Amazon in 2019 suggest that these high-frequency natural disasters are beyond people’s imagination, which seems to indicate that global warming has reached the point of incurable.

The climate monitoring of the World Meteorological Organization shows that the warming trend of the global climate system is further sustained due to the joint influence of human activities and natural factors, and the concentration of greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, Freon) has reached the highest level in history. The key reason for climate warming lies in the increase of greenhouse gases (concentration).. The data shows that the global average temperature in 2018 is about 1.0 ℃ higher than the pre industrial level, and the five years from 2014 to 2018 are the warmest since the complete meteorological observation record; the losses caused by global weather and climate disasters account for more than 90% of the economic losses caused by natural disasters. The risks of global climate change to ecosystems are increasing, which is bound to have a profound impact on global development.

Climate change risks can be extreme weather and climate event risks, as well as risks caused by long-term average climate change. I will analyze the risks caused by climate warming from four aspects: water resources, food production and security, ecosystem and economy.

① In terms of water resources, the renewable underground and surface water resources in many subtropical arid areas will be significantly reduced and the risk will be significantly increased. For every 1 ℃ rise in temperature, the population affected by water resources will increase by 7%.

② In terms of grain yield and safety, the increase of temperature above 2 ° C will reduce the yield of wheat, rice, corn and other major crops in most regions of tropical and temperate regions by 0-2% every 10 years.

③ In terms of ecosystem, there will be a high risk of irreversible changes and regional scale mutations, and most of the freshwater and land species will be at risk of extinction. Coastal areas and areas with lower elevation will be more adversely affected by coastal erosion, inundation and coastal flooding caused by sea-level rise.

④ For the economic sector, at comparable prices in 2018, global disaster economic losses increased from an average of $52.8 billion in 1970-1979 to an average of $177.9 billion in 2000-2009. In addition, rural areas face increased risks of food security, water shortages and reduced income. Statistics show that from 1980 to 2018, the number of global natural disaster events increased from 249 in 1980 to 848 in 2018 (the largest number in calendar years). It can be seen that the number of global meteorological disasters has increased significantly.

In addition, climate change can bring unexpected benefits:

① As the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmospheric environment continues to rise, it can better help plants carry out photosynthesis and promote plant growth, making the earth green.

② Food crops will also grow better and the global population’s food supply will be alleviated.

③ It can increase the temperature and change the economic structure of the countries in the sub cold zone of the cold zone, and also change the planting system, so as to increase the output.

Discussion:

Green girl Greta Thunberg is seen by some as a symbol of the climate movement and by others as a sick idol. I’d like to see how you can see that her deeds have been written into Swedish high school textbooks and become an example for students.