Dixya Poudel

Recently, there were several news reports trending in social media about climate change and environmental sustainability. Despite lockdowns worldwide, carbon dioxide in the air isn’t declining but is instead at an increasingly high level. Emissions have shrunk by eight per cent this year and yet the CO2 averages have been recorded at 411 parts per million. This is quite alarming. To avoid catastrophic climate change-related disasters, it is important to limit carbon emissions. In response, numerous countries worldwide have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality, also called as Net Zero. Even though lockdowns have recorded less air pollution, the situation is bleak. This is why it is important to innovate ways to tackle climate change.
The ongoing global alliance called Race to Zero campaign aims to reduce CO2 emissions. Businesses are now looking for ways to a zero-carbon economy which is certainly laudable. The target is to reduce the use of fossil fuels and plastics, put an end to deforestation and thus reduce global warming. The Race to Zero emissions might just be the step forward to dealing with climate change effects. Net Zero means not adding any emissions at all in the atmosphere. While this step is highly ambitious, countries worldwide have stepped up to the challenge. The goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. And this year saw not just the devastation carried by the coronavirus pandemic, but also immense wildfires in Australia and then in California of the United States. It has been known that such wildfires are aggravated by global warming which thus must be addressed solemnly. No more can the collective humanity turn a blind eye to the gradual degradation of the planet caused by reckless and heedless acts of humans.
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the earth has become warmer by 1.10 C. After global outcries, the Paris Agreement was created in 2016 as a response to climate change. According to the agreement, countries have pledged to keep the increase in global temperature well below 20 C or at 1.50 C above the pre-industrial levels. And Net Zero is achievable if we incorporate measures such as a switch to renewable energy. Electric vehicles, solar and wind energy can be viable options. Likewise, bicycles are an environment-friendly means of transportation. Consumption of less meat and more plant-based foods can further lead to the reduction of harmful emissions that occurs through livestock produce. CO2 can remain in atmosphere for quite a long while, however. It is thus necessary to create ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere while also stopping additional emissions, so that the climate change doesn’t take a turn for the worse. Likewise, eco-friendly lifestyle starts at an individual level by limiting carbon footprints. Going green has become quite trendy today which can further help communities become sustainable.
Global warming leads to the melting of ice sheets, natural calamities, rise of sea levels and ocean acidification. Thus it is more important than ever to curb climate change. And while the earth is home to 7.8 billion people, the resources of the planet are quite limited. It falls upon the inhabitants of the world to ensure that their future generations get to live in this beautiful earth that is the only known home to human beings.