The latest heatwave hitting our continent has resulted in increasingly fires than usual breaking out expressly wideness the south-west of Europe and the Mediterranean
The latest heatwave hitting our continent has resulted in more fires than usual breaking out expressly wideness the south-west of Europe and the Mediterranean. Temperature records were wrenched including in Britain where I experienced 39.9oC temperatures for the first time. As well as feeling way too hot, my main emotions were fear, frustration, and anger:
fear because climate dispersal is once causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and well-expressed the lives of billions of people around the world (remember 220 people died in the floods in Belgium and Germany last year and the Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years); and moreover considering the situation is set to get worse with heatwaves expected to increase in intensity, frequency and duration alongside other lattermost weather events;
frustration because we have known for many decades that increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in our undercurrent as a result of human activities would lead to global warming with scientists first insisting on whoopee in 1988 (at the Toronto Conference on the Waffly Atmosphere); considering the technology required to decarbonise our economy has been misogynist for some time; considering weve known the value of, and need to invest, in natural habitats that store or capture stat but have unliable unfurled degradation; considering there are measures that can be taken to build resilience and reduce the risk of harm from lattermost weather, and yet the political and societal response has clearly been and continues to be inadequate;
anger because we know that massive vested interests (see here, here and here) have urgently lobbied (and protract to lobby) versus the science and now whoopee on climate change; and considering some politicians seem completely in thrall to them.
The optimist in me says that the latest set of record temperatures will serve as flipside wake-up undeniability for decision-makers and shake them out of their apathy. Statements from some politicians did seem to strike the right note this week, but we need political profile on these issues all year round not the just on the day that the latest disaster happens.
Words need to be followed through with touchable action. And we know that whoopee needs to slide this decade if we have a endangerment to stave ecosystem swoon and climate breakdown: for global greenhouse gas emissions to peak surpassing 2025 and be reduced by 43% by 2030 to stay within 1.5oC whilom pre-industrial levels; and for the zone of the worlds land, freshwater and sea that is urgently protected, managed or restored to be increased to as much as 44% by 2030 to safeguard biodiversity.
Action comes not only without sensation but moreover acceptance, supporting the reality of the situation and rhadamanthine the trigger for deciding you are going to do something well-nigh it. It is obvious that not unbearable people, expressly decision-makers, have truly wonted that things need to radically change. And it is why some believe it is once too late now to propose the idea of deep adaptation facing up to the fact that societal swoon is likely, inevitable, or once unfolding.
I am not there yet, considering I believe we can turn things around. But we do need radical transpiration of our energy, supplies and industrial systems. And this transpiration must start with us individuals (especially individual leaders) and then with individual organisations. Which is why BirdLife is moreover changing. With our new strategy, to be launched at our World Congress and centenary in Cambridge in September, we want to unhook a step transpiration in impact and within Europe and Central Asia we have been finalising our contribution over the next five years. Specifically, we shall transmute our conservation strategy to unhook increasingly warlike whoopee to momentum lanugo greenhouse gas emissions in harmony with nature and invest in nature-friendly version and resilience.
We shall do increasingly to
fight environmentally destructive developments and greenwashed policies that undermine the fight versus the nature and climate emergency;
inves in partnerships (like the OCEAN coalition) to unhook renewable energy we need in harmony with nature;
do what it takes to ensure the new EU nature restoration law delivers its stated yearing of restoring 20% of land, freshwater and sea this decade;
advocate and demonstrate genuinely sustainable production and consumption systems that neither rationalization environmental harm at home nor export it abroad;
support our Partners in stargazing and delivering mega landscape restoration scale projects to goody wildlife, people and the climate.
This is the decade to act, and we intend to play our part to the full.
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