By Kim Sun-ae
"It's now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit)," said Working Group III Co-Chair Jim Skea of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
According to the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC released in April, to limit global warming to around 1.5 degrees, global greenhouse gas emissions should peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by nearly half by 2030 compared to the current level. In other words, the time remaining to us is two and a half years. If global greenhouse gas emissions do not start decreasing in this period, we are likely to face climate catastrophes due to global warming of over 1.5 degrees.
Many scientists in the world forecast that if the average temperature of the Earth increases by more than 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times, the intensity and frequency of extreme climate phenomena, including heat waves, wildfires, heavy rains and typhoons, will rise. However, because the scale of climate change is global, a lot of people may feel powerless, thinking, "Even if I ― a small individual ― act alone, the problem will not be solved."
Nevertheless, beside us are our loved ones who are younger than us. They may be our children, nieces and nephews, our grandchildren or neighbors. Whether they can live in a safer world depends on our action right now.
Individual practices to address the climate crisis are important. At the same time, social actions are critical too. If you are a writer, you'll be able to let people know about climate change by writing on this issue. If you are an artist, you'll be able to cover this problem through a dance, a movie, a theater performance and so on.
In addition, we can encourage one another to go in a better direction by discussing how to address the climate crisis in a small or big group. We can also urge the government to start decreasing greenhouse gas emissions immediately through collective actions such as demonstrations. When little streams meet and become a large river which flows powerfully, we will be able to create a more livable world.
The greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2030 that Korea submitted to the United Nations last year is not enough in respect to the IPCC's demands. Therefore, Korea must raise its reduction goal.
According to the IPCC report, the existing and planned coal-fired power plants are likely to cause global warming of over 1.5 degrees. Thus, it is necessary to close the current coal power plants as soon as possible and to cancel the construction of new ones. Then, the air quality will improve greatly because coal power plants emit a massive amount of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Our future depends on how many citizens and governments join climate action for the next two and a half years. Now is the only time remaining for us.
Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/dancinglf) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated "Little Lord Fauntleroy."
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According to the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC released in April, to limit global warming to around 1.5 degrees, global greenhouse gas emissions should peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by nearly half by 2030 compared to the current level. In other words, the time remaining to us is two and a half years. If global greenhouse gas emissions do not start decreasing in this period, we are likely to face climate catastrophes due to global warming of over 1.5 degrees.
Many scientists in the world forecast that if the average temperature of the Earth increases by more than 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times, the intensity and frequency of extreme climate phenomena, including heat waves, wildfires, heavy rains and typhoons, will rise. However, because the scale of climate change is global, a lot of people may feel powerless, thinking, "Even if I ― a small individual ― act alone, the problem will not be solved."
Nevertheless, beside us are our loved ones who are younger than us. They may be our children, nieces and nephews, our grandchildren or neighbors. Whether they can live in a safer world depends on our action right now.
Individual practices to address the climate crisis are important. At the same time, social actions are critical too. If you are a writer, you'll be able to let people know about climate change by writing on this issue. If you are an artist, you'll be able to cover this problem through a dance, a movie, a theater performance and so on.
In addition, we can encourage one another to go in a better direction by discussing how to address the climate crisis in a small or big group. We can also urge the government to start decreasing greenhouse gas emissions immediately through collective actions such as demonstrations. When little streams meet and become a large river which flows powerfully, we will be able to create a more livable world.
The greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2030 that Korea submitted to the United Nations last year is not enough in respect to the IPCC's demands. Therefore, Korea must raise its reduction goal.
According to the IPCC report, the existing and planned coal-fired power plants are likely to cause global warming of over 1.5 degrees. Thus, it is necessary to close the current coal power plants as soon as possible and to cancel the construction of new ones. Then, the air quality will improve greatly because coal power plants emit a massive amount of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Our future depends on how many citizens and governments join climate action for the next two and a half years. Now is the only time remaining for us.
Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/dancinglf) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated "Little Lord Fauntleroy."
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