Conservation of Nature is the Solution to the Problem of Climate Change

Not so long ago, people talked about global impacts with the help of models and projections. Today, we don’t need to talk about projections; we can witness changes that are happening right now. For over the last one hundred and fifty years, we have changed the balance of our planet completely. We have burnt huge amounts of fossil fuels and cut down forests, which would naturally absorb carbon dioxide from the air providing us with clean air to breathe in.

Climate change presents serious challenges to everything around us, including us. But finally, the world is addressing climate change as a matter of urgency. The main aim of the Paris Climate Agreement is to limit the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and even to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This certainly is a huge move since 195 countries, around 700 cities and many multinational companies made commitments to fulfilling the targets set at the conference.

Globally, many leaders now realize that it is less costly to address climate change rather than to deny the existence of this grave issue. Translating the commitments into action presents opportunities to re-imagine the future of global commons. These actions can stabilize the climate—and bring about cleaner air, more reliable energy, healthier workplaces, and more sustainable land use.

Yet the real deal is to achieve these commitments and transformations as a result. The results so far are discouraging as private and public sector are not actually moving towards a low-carbon future. Most countries still neglect the effect of greenhouse gases and continue to meet their energy demands despite the harmful effect of fossil fuels on climate change. Transforming cities and transportation systems means transforming everything from building materials to city and regional planning. A move towards new land use practices would result in greater skepticism and denial about the existence of climate change. Furthermore, this transformation requires research and investment which the super powers and great powers are currently unwilling to do so as nation states perceive climate change as a matter of lesser importance than national interests and growth. This is evident from the possible withdrawal of US from Paris Climate Agreement after President Donald Trump’s decision.

Conservation has a pivotal role to play in addressing climate change. Scientists around the world believe that the world’s nations can achieve around one third of carbon reduction targets by stopping deforestation and restoring degraded lands. In fact, without conservation the ideal world where there is zero carbon emission is an unachievable goal. But conservation of our global commons can never be our only strategy. Our goal should be to present creative solutions to tackling this issue while ensuring that we take a sustainable path.

We have already witnessed the positive impacts of using renewable energy resources. The renewable energy industry creates job opportunities and give consumers wider energy choices. Back in 1970s, every watt produced by solar panels cost about fifty times more than it does now. However, now you’ll find houses equipped with solar panels in almost every other housing scheme. Although use of renewable resources is growing fast, they still represent a small fraction of world’s energy supply. However, the move to clean energy resources is not an easy ask. Nature

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