Property for survival

As he pointed out United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres humanity he travels through what he calls “the highway to climate hell.” A large number of studies and indicators support this.

In fact, it is known that in 2022 the ocean temperature reached the highest recorded level of warming. In the data closer to the moment in which we live, it can be pointed out that the International Agency for Energy predicts that by 2023 greenhouse gas emissions will peak again. According to observations by the National Center for Environmental Information, an agency affiliated with the National Atmospheric Administration it seems clear that we are on that path, since in January 2023 the surface of the planet showed a temperature exceeding the average recorded in 20th century for the months of January.

The consequences of these trends are frightening. According to a study published by The Faculty of Geography, University of Oxford recently released, professor Louis Slader and Doctor Jiabo Yin point out that, if the rise in temperature continues, 9 out of 10 inhabitants of the Earth will experience extreme climatic situations.

We are definitely on a path that points to the sixth great extension of life on Earththis time caused by an economic model that points to the endless accumulation of capital, sustained by growth that systematically destroys the environment.

Since it is humanity itself is threatened With the disappearance, it is inevitable to determine what would be the escape route from this situation. In the discussion of this topic, the idea was developed that this could be achieved without a major transformation of the logic currently existing production and distribution. In reality, it is a false solution, the so-called “greenwashing” strategy.

The basic idea of ​​achieving environmental sustainability without social and economic changes importantly, it is based on the idea of ​​a purely technical solution. This vision, as highlighted in a recent article published in a prestigious magazine Lancet magazine by Joel Millward-Hopkins and Yannnik Owald, it is not taken into account that the proposed technologies have not been tested and, furthermore, imply severe negative alternatives in relation to biodiversity and agro-food systems. from his side John Bellamy Foster drew attention to the ecological contradictions of the so-called carbon sequestration technologies.

Two more elements should be added to the above. The first one refers to the fact that, considering the high costs that negative climate impacts already have, there is a real competition between the costs of replacing these damages and those that have to assign to energy transformation. The second is related to the fact that the phase of easy decarbonization will soon end and will have to move to a more expensive phase.

So, as it follows from Millward-Hopkins and Oswald article, possibility Achieving a sustainable situation, in which all inhabitants of the planet can achieve satisfactory human well-being, involves reducing the average energy consumption per capita and using energy more equitably among different social sectors. In terms global concentration Gini coefficient in the use of energy among social sectors should be reduced from 0.58 to the level of 0.28 to 0.27. As these authors point out, this can only be achieved if there is a significant redistribution of income. Equity and social justice are necessary for the salvation of humanity.