Can we REALLY stop climate change?

Recently I’ve read the books ‘The sun is also a star’ by Nicola Yoon and ‘The brightest star in the sky’ by Marian Keyes. Coincidently, both titles have the word sun in them, with global warming resurfacing and COP26 that happened not too long ago… I’ve been wondering. Since we’re on the topic of the sun, can we stop climate change? And is climate change and global warming the same thing?

So is it global warming or climate change? Climate change, like we’ve all learnt at school, is when greenhouse gases trap energy from the sun and relocate into our atmosphere. The results of this process are droughts, floods, intense storms, rise in sea levels and ocean acidification. As you could notice, the effects are more than just the earth warming. Thus, the term climate change is preferred.

There is a direct connection between carbon emissions and prosperity in a country. The more affluent population has a larger carbon footprint than the rest. Meaning, the quickest way to cut carbon dioxide emissions will be if all affluent populations on earth change their lifestyles and the less fortunate never achieve a lifestyle of comfortable living. And yes, once again, the world would be disadvantaging the poor. It appears we need to favour climate change over comfort, realistically speaking, if you can read this blog… (lol), you are a contributor to climate change, too!

We humans are richer, more advanced and powerful than ever before, why do we struggle with climate change problems? Simple! Just plant a tree and save a polar bears’ life. Of course, on a global scale, that is unobtainable! Even the most motivated people who dedicate their lives to climate change reduction can not change the bigger picture.

In December 2019, I heard about the Team Trees project run by Youtubers MrBeast and Mark Rober to plant 20 million trees before 2020. Planting trees is definitely, a step in the right direction. Especially after all the wildfires, the world has experienced. Unquestionably, the trees area solution we already have for climate change. Sadly, climate change will not end even if we save all the trees on earth and plant new trees on every open plot. None will work unless we put fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

I will not preach about how imperative it is to use bamboo straws and paper bags but rather how important it is to find the root cause of the problem. We, unfortunately, live in a consumerism system where economic activity above all is maximized at all costs. Without a doubt, saving the earth includes all our efforts combined. We need to consume within the need and, equally important, hold those accountable for implementing the most effective climate change strategies. With the lives we have adapted to, climate change is inevitable. We can not stop climate change, but there is no reason why we can not decrease the rate of the process.