We can't deny that climate change is a real and pressing issue faced by all countries in the world. Climate agreements have been made to further unite our collective efforts in combating climate change, but still, the Earth's temperature rise shows no sign of slowing down yet as most humans are still so insistent in pursuing infinite economic growth. Then, despite all that, we shall continue pushing our mitigating and adapting agenda to maintain global temperature well below 1.5°C.
Notable Efforts in Combating Climate Change
- Electric Public Transportation
Some countries have set some balanced percentage for fossil-fueled and electrically fueled cars/transportation as their target to achieve carbon neutrality. For instance, Chile, now has a total of 200 electric buses and, the second largest fleet in the developing world after China. The government said that it intends to have 80 percent of electric public transport by 2022. In June 2019, Chile revealed the development of a climate action plan that aims to shut all 28 coal power plants by 2040, and target carbon neutrality by 2050. -
Renewable Energy
Norway, in 2017, almost 96 percent of electricity was generated by hydro power plants and around two percent from wind farms, alone. The country has transitioned to clean energy as a result of their carbon tax, which allowed them to fund alternative sources. -
Reforestation
Despite being a small and less developed country, Bhutan was able to achieve zero CO2 emissions thanks to the country’s reforestation program. The forests absorb in its entirety the relatively low amounts of gases emitted by the vehicles and industries.
However, aren't those efforts sound so big for us, inidividually? As individuals, can we do something? Yes, we can. We can start by adapting and involving more eco-friendly activities and decisions in our daily lives to further reduce our carbon footprints. Check out this article for more.