Beware Carbon Myopia at COP28: Why Climate and Nature Action Must Now Come Together in the Race for a Liveable Planet

School of fish and coral. Credit: UNDP SeychellesBy Midori PaxtonNEW YORK, Dec 6 2023 (IPS) As COP28 delegates focus on the first Global Stocktake, there is no doubt that the race to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is vital. But while electric vehicles and solar power uptake have seen visible and welcome progress in particular, the transition to a thriving future on a healthy planet requires much more than decarbonization alone. Don’t get me wrong. Decarbonization is a must. It has to be done. But focus on just one lane of what must be a systemic transition to a liveable planet is dangerously myopic. Water vapor, for example, is overlooked as a highly significant greenhouse gas. It is the most abundant greenhouse gas, and responsible for about half of greenhouse heating effects. Recent research published in the International Journal of Environment and Climate change highlights that the quantities of water vapor in our atmosphere are affected by a breadth of environmentally damaging human activities, beyond fossil fuel emissions. The oceans are the world’s biggest carbon sink and a weather and climate regulator in their own right. Harm to ocean ecosystem functions due to ocean acidification, toxic “forever chemicals” and microplastic pollution has led to reductions in phytoplankton photosynthesis by as much as 50 per cent since the 1950s. Phytoplankton photosynthesis underpins almost all marine animal life by generating most of the oxygen and food that provide other ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Climate Action Climate Change Combating Desertification and Drought COP28 Energy Environment Global Green Economy Headlines Health Sustainable Development Goals TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau Source Type: news