Writer： Greenpeace
As of December 18, 1,261 government units around the world have declared a "Climate Emergency." In mid-October, more than 11,000 scientists signed a petition to warn the world and those in power based on various scientific evidence that the climate crisis As changes are taking place, we must begin to limit carbon emissions.
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The latest report from "The BioScience" "Scientists warn: The world is facing a climate emergency." The research report has been signed by more than 11,000 scientists and researchers from 153 countries. Greenpeace interviewed three of the signatories in Taiwan. They all said that climate change has caused impacts such as rising sea levels and changes in marine ecology. We hope By signing the "Climate Emergency Declaration", we are alerting the world to the need to take action.
As early as 40 years ago, scientists from 50 countries agreed at the first World Climate Conference in Geneva in 1979 that necessary measures must be taken to combat climate change; this has since included the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. , the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and many major global conferences, scientists continue to warn that action must be accelerated to respond to climate change. However, greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, and climate change has escalated into a climate crisis, causing heat waves, instant rainfall, and forest fires. Extreme climate events occur frequently.
William Ripple, the main initiator of the "Climate Emergency Declaration" and a professor at Oregon State University in the United States, pointed out that this declaration is based on the increasing number of extreme climate events and clearly states that "we declare that the earth is facing a climate emergency" and should use renewable energy. Replace fossil fuels, reduce methane, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, protect the natural environment, reduce deforestation, reduce meat consumption, replace the pursuit of GDP with public health as the economic development goal, and control population growth.
As of October 14, 11,258 scientists from around the world have signed the petition, 7 of whom are from Taiwan, including Luo Minhui, associate professor of the Department of Atmosphere, National Taiwan University, and doctoral candidates Rodrigo Carballo-Bolaños and Aziz Mulla of the Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica. This declaration of climate emergency has attracted global attention. Since mid-October, it has been open for signature again, and more than 1,000 new scientists have joined.
The ocean is burning too, and coral reef ecology is bearing the brunt
Academia Sinica doctoral candidate Aziz Mulla's research fields include geology and environmental sciences, with a current focus on coral reef ecology in Taiwan. In an interview with Greenpeace, he pointed out that the importance of climate change has been debated for the past 40 years, and now the "Climate Emergency Declaration" warns the world that climate change is threatening daily life. This year includes unusual fires in the forests of California and Australia. The extent of the burning of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has not yet been confirmed. "We can see the forest on fire, but we can't see that the ocean is also on fire." Coral reefs in the sea provide 25% of the living environment for marine life. It is also a reservoir of carbon and nitrogen. Unfortunately, coral reefs cannot be moved. Humans still need a recovery period from sunburn, but coral reefs can only continue to bleach in the warming seawater, becoming the first victims of climate change.
In addition, from an economic perspective, the tourism and fishery benefits brought by Australia's Great Barrier Reef are worth more than trillions of dollars. Taiwan is located on the edge of the Coral Triangle. Most fisheries require coral reef ecological chains to maintain. For South Korea, For places such as Taiwan or Green Island, coral reefs and fisheries are very important economic sources.
Aziz also gave an example. Taiwan must first face global warming and sea level rise caused by increased carbon emissions. Research predicts that the sea level in Yilan may rise by 0.2 to 2 meters in the future, leaving most of the Yilan Plain submerged in water. Prevention and control must be carried out now. Adaptation planning. According to the journal Nature, as Greenland's ice melt intensifies, if the sea level rises to 15 meters, the entire Taipei will be submerged in the sea, including most Pacific coast cities such as Shanghai.
"Climate change not only affects one region, but is affecting the whole world." Aziz pointed out that starting from the first country to declare a climate emergency, Scotland, European countries and some U.S. states followed suit, and Taiwan should also join. This allows the public to understand what may happen in the future and take changes, or to research which candidate supports sustainable green energy, their attitude towards fossil fuels, and to cast the right vote for the planet. “The election is not just about a single issue. "It covers a wide range of issues." The candidate's attitude towards the environment will determine our future.
Rodrigo, who also studies coral ecology, said that we are facing a critical moment. As scientists, our responsibility is to provide evidence to call on those in power and the public to pay attention to the climate crisis. Large-scale coral bleaching occurred in 1998, 2010 and 2014 around the world, followed by four consecutive years. The "El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)" occurred in 2007, causing climate disasters in many places. As the ocean warms, coral reefs are stimulated to release their Symbiodinium algae, which will kill them over time.
Rodigo emphasized that the impact of climate is widespread. If you put all the puzzle pieces together, you can get a glimpse of the extent of future disasters. He suggested that Taiwan's presidential candidates propose a flexible plan to limit the use of fossil fuels and invest more resources in Green energy construction is the last opportunity to show determination to fight climate change.
Climate change is underway, now it’s time to mitigate the impact for the next generation
Associate Professor Luo Minhui of the Department of Atmosphere, National Taiwan University, specializes in the interaction between land and the atmosphere, as well as the use of satellite gravity measurements to monitor changes in the water cycle and analyze important factors affecting sea level rise. He believes that the "Climate Emergency Declaration" signed by tens of thousands of scientists shows the growing sense of crisis about climate change. In the past, you may not think that a 1 degree Celsius increase in the earth's average temperature is a big deal, because there have been similar warming situations in the past. However, more and more observational data and climate model results show that under global warming, extreme climate events are increasing. After signing a joint letter to reflect the current understanding of the academic community, what is more important is how governments and the public respond.
Luo Minhui pointed out that according to climate model estimates, the average sea level will rise by 1 to 6 meters by the end of this century, and the rise will be more dramatic in some places, which will affect the living rights of people in the region. He also quoted Professor Zeng Yuheng from the Institute of Oceanography of National Taiwan University The research results show that due to the amount of thermal expansion of seawater and changes in regional ocean flow fields, regional sea level rise rates are different. Because the northwest Pacific Ocean around Taiwan is an area where equatorial seawater accumulates westward, sea level changes around Taiwan are higher than the global average. About 1.5-2 times faster. Likewise, the temperature changes around Taiwan are greater than the global average temperature increase. Taiwan may also face more severe extreme climate events, such as droughts and disastrous heavy rains in recent years, which may become more common in the future.
Compared with Taiwan, European society is generally aware of the climate crisis. The heat wave in France in 2003 killed more than 20,000 people, prompting European society to begin to reflect and take action, and even worked to reduce carbon emissions by calculating personal daily carbon footprints. On the other hand, there is insufficient consensus on the climate crisis in Taiwan. However, as the permafrost in Siberia and northern Canada gradually melts, more greenhouse gases will be released into the atmosphere. For the next generation, the extreme climate they have to face will become increasingly severe. We have the responsibility to gradually strengthen our concepts or practical actions now to reduce the impact that the next generation will suffer in the future.
Luo Minhui believes that the Taiwan government can start with carbon control and carbon trading, encourage companies to reduce carbon emissions in the production process, set up dedicated centers, strengthen infrastructure (such as the construction and maintenance of large computer computing resources and long-term meteorological observation instruments), and cultivate talents , such as National Taiwan University's "International Master's and Doctoral Program on Climate Change and Sustainable Development," combines atmospheric science, earth science, ecology, social science, political science and other diverse perspectives to promote students' cross-disciplinary thinking. All walks of life can also integrate from the same perspective and face Taiwan's future problems together through various attempts.
Greenpeace has long been concerned about the issue of climate change and requires companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the government to accelerate energy transformation while abandoning the use of fossil fuels and using renewable energy as the main source of clean electricity. As the carbon reduction deadline recommended by the IPCC gradually approaches, this year's "2020 Climate Leaders Political Opinion Competition" will be conducted to monitor the specific climate and energy political opinions of the three presidential candidates, so as to lead Taiwan to prepare in advance to deal with the impact of climate change.
Advancing climate policy needs your help
I invite you, regardless of political party, to call on the presidential candidates to consider the safety and future of all people and clearly plan policies to respond to the climate crisis. The voice of the people is the greatest pressure on candidates. It is hoped that the future president will raise the climate issue to the highest level and put it on par with social, national defense and other issues, and put forward political opinions that can demonstrate Taiwan's determination to fight the climate crisis, and assume the responsibility of tomorrow's climate leader.
The climate crisis respects no borders or boundaries, we have comprehensive solutions and now we must get your support to advance our initiatives against fossil fuel companies and governments at this critical time. Please join the ranks of mitigating the climate crisis and protect the Arctic and the earth together! Greenpeace does not accept funding from the government or enterprises. It relies 100% on the support of enthusiastic people like you, so that it can fight for a long time and bring positive changes to the environment, you, me, the next generation, and the home of all animals and plants. You are invited to join!
