Climate goals are introduced by the international scientific community with the intent that governments and companies, collectively with civil society, establish urgent actions to fight climate change, reduce emissions, and keep temperatures below 15˚C compared to pre-industrial levels. This is due to the fact that 560 natural disasters are forecast for the year 2030. The Climate Project Latin America reports that the world is in a critical situation and needs urgent measures.
The United Nations states that there are many countries committed to the cause; however, these goals must be manifested in short-term policies and concrete actions. Otherwise, the consequences of global warming may be irreversible.
The Climate Reality Project Latin America establishes the following goals
- Climate finance: This is one of the most relevant goals and consists of providing economic support to the countries in most need to establish mitigation and adaptation measures. It is possible to reduce the susceptibility of countries before the consequences of global warming through financial investments in green infrastructure, sustainable energy systems, sustainable transportation, biodiversity protection, among others.
- Energy transition: This consists of making use of renewable energy sources such as wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and solar. These promote sustainable economic development, safety, and responsible consumption of resources. It also benefits the health of people and ecosystems.
- Green cities: These are an alternative to optimize environmental conditions through sustainable infrastructure, i.e., developing green walls, vertical gardens, green spaces, urban orchards, among others. Half of humanity lives in urban areas; therefore, governments should focus their efforts on creating greener cities.
- Electric mobility: Transportation is responsible for generating a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, it is necessary to implement and design more sustainable transport.
- Biodiversity protection: Climate change, fires, droughts, illegal logging, and fishing, among others, have destroyed and altered ecosystems. It is therefore urgent that governments create more concrete climate goals to rescue and protect ecosystems.
These established climate targets are intended to guide the action’s of countries in order to achieve a sustainable and healthy future for all humanity. However, responsibility belongs to all of us.
The International Iberoamerican University (UNIB) offers programs related to the environment, such as the Master in Environmental Management and Audits.
Photo: All rights reserved. Source: What are the most urgent climate goals to be met by 2023?