Osaka Castle and Climate Change

 

This is the fourth part of a five part series. Please see my other posts from the last few days for posts 1-3.

Osaka Castle is one of those places that looks good morning and night and in any kind of weather. It is just a very scenic building with great surroundings!

I feel badly that due to the demands of my current teaching job, I have not been able to devote much time and effort to climate change work. I am looking forward to getting back to that work this coming summer!

Below is a summary of some of the information I have found about where we are at this point with climate change.

On the United Nations news web site listed below, the following five issues are highlighted

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158446

1) Keeping the average global temperature within 1.5 degrees of pre-industrial levels. 

According to this article from the Japan Times, (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2024/11/12/climate-change/global-warming-already-15c/), we may be failing that goal even now. 

"A newly proposed method for calculating the global temperature suggests that countries may have already failed their main climate goal: to limit warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Scientists using the method say the world was 1.49 C hotter than in pre-industrial times by the end of 2023. Conventional accounting puts that number at around 1.3 C."

2) Protecting Nature. (From the UN website cited above)

"Holding COP30 in the Amazonian rainforest region of Brazil is of symbolic importance. It harks back to the early days of international attempts to protect the environment: the pivotal “Earth Summit”, which led to the establishment of three environmental treaties on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification, took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 1992."

"The location also highlights the role that nature has to play in the climate crisis. The rainforest is a massive “carbon sink”, a system that sucks up and stores CO2, a greenhouse gas, and prevents it from entering the atmosphere, where it contributes to warming."

"Unfortunately, rainforests and other “nature-based solutions” face threats from human development, such as illegal logging which has devastated huge swathes of the region. The UN will continue efforts begun in 2024 to improve the protection of the rainforest and other ecosystems, at biodiversity talks due to be resumed in Rome in February."

3) Who Is Going To Pay For All This?  (From the UN website cited above)

"Finance has long been a thorny issue in international climate negotiations. Developing countries argue that wealthy nations should contribute far more towards projects and initiatives that will enable them to move away from fossil fuels, and power their economies on clean energy sources. The pushback from the rich countries is that fast-growing economies such as China, which is now the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, should also pay their share."

"At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, a breakthrough of sorts was made, with the adoption of an agreement to triple the amount of climate finance paid to developing countries, to $300 billion per year, by 2035. The deal is a definite step forward, but the final sum is far less than the $1.3 trillion that climate experts say these countries need in order to adapt to the crisis."

"Expect more progress to be made on financing in 2025, at a summit in Spain at the end of June. The Financing for Development conferences only take place once every 10 years, and next year’s edition is being billed as an opportunity to make radical changes to the international financial architecture. Environmental and climate concerns will be raised, and potential solutions such as green taxation, carbon pricing and subsidies will all be on the table."

4) Laying Down The Law  (From the UN website cited above)

"When the attention of the International Court of Justice turned to climate change in December, it was hailed as a landmark moment with regards to States’ legal obligations under international law."

"Vanuatu, a Pacific island state particularly vulnerable to the crisis, asked the court for an advisory position, in order to clarify the obligations of States with regard to climate change, and inform any future judicial proceedings."

"Over a two-week period, 96 countries and 11 regional organizations took part in public hearings before the Court, including Vanuatu and a group of other Pacific islands States, and major economies including China and the USA."

"The ICJ will deliberate for several months before delivering its advisory opinion on the subject. Although this opinion will be non-binding, it is expected to guide future international climate law."

 5) Plastic Pollution (From the UN website cited above)

"UN-convened talks on getting to grips with the global epidemic of plastic pollution edged closer to a deal during negotiations in Busan, South Korea."

"Some key advances were made during the November 2024 talks – the fifth round of negotiations following the 2022 UN Environment Assembly resolution calling for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment."

"Agreement on three pivotal areas needs to be ironed: plastic products, including the issue of chemicals; sustainable production and consumption; and financing."

"Member States are now charged with finding political solutions to their differences before the resumed session begins, and with landing a final deal that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics and delivers on the growing global momentum to end plastic pollution."

“It is clear that the world still wants and demands an end to plastic pollution,” said UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen. “We need to ensure we craft an instrument that hits the problem hard instead of punching below its potential weight. I call on all Member States to lean in.”

The following report gives these figures for the sources of global emissions in 2023.

file:///Users/rrr/Downloads/EGR2024.pdf

1. Energy
   
1. 26%: power
   
1. 15%: transportation
1. 11%: road
2. 2%: aviation
3. 2%: other
2. 11%: industry 
3. 10%: fuel production
4. 6%: buildings
2. Process
1. 9%: industrial processes
3. Agriculture and Forestry and Other Land Use
1. 11%: agriculture
2. 7%: forestry and land use
4. Waste and Other
1. 5%: waste
   

I wish that I had some easy answers, but I do not. The best I can do is to read as much as I can, research the different issues and opinions, collaborate with others, and then do my part to contribute to meaningful solutions. In addition, I believe that the following steps are ones that I can take to reduce my carbon footprint.

1. Use my bike.
   
2. Walk and use public transportation.
   
3. Minimize and/or eliminate my use of airplane transportation.
4. Shop locally.
   
5. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits and minimize dairy and meat consumption.
6. Dress warmly to reduce reliance on heating.
7. Use a fan instead of air conditioning. 
8. Live a healthy lifestyle so I can continue to be productive.
   

I sincerely hope that with all of our efforts, we can turn this around so that our planet survives this crisis!

All the best,

Bob