Climate change is one of today’s most challenging problems. Now everybody knows that it’s real and it poses a huge threat to the Earth and its inhabitants. The situation rapidly worsens. Sea levels have risen, snow levels have decreased, the oceans have become warmer, food supplies have fallen and many species of animals have gone extinct. The UN warns us that we need to reduce climate change below 1.5C but given the current situation, doing so is almost an unattainable goal.
According to NASA, the planet’s average surface temperature has dramatically risen since the 19th century and the main reason for this change is producing carbon-dioxide and emitting other dangerous substances into the atmosphere. Besides, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050. In this case, the chances for the world to survive will be higher and we will stay below an average temperature rise.
Several countries are taking part in this harmful process and Asian countries are among them. China is at the top of the list of the countries that emitted the most carbon dioxide, followed by the United States, India, the Russian Federation and Japan. The data shows that developed countries with emerging economy industries are the leaders in carbon dioxide emissions and therefore, they are the ones responsible for environmental changes and dramatic results, making the countries look for effective solutions to global warming with great effort.
What countries are doing about climate change?
Countries developed a number of strategies to fight against climate change. Making the Paris agreement in 2015 was a big step in implementing new policies in order to reduce global warming. Countries teamed up to combat the climate crisis and intensified the actions and investments for a low carbon future for the world. The central aim of the Paris Agreement is to maintain a global temperature rise below 2C this century. The goal is ambitious indeed but the world’s leading and the most developed countries actively participate in achieving this purpose.
During many years, European countries were the leaders in the process of combating climate change. Denmark has always been doing the most to protect the environment, having most of its energy come from renewable resources and showing the lowest level of emitting carbon dioxide. Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia are on the list as well. There is a tendency of producing renewable energy to protect the environment. These countries are setting major challenges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but according to WWF, deforestation, soil erosion, and destruction of wildlife are still important issues.
Asian countries start to contribute
However, the current statistics show that the situation changed and not only the countries involved in the Paris agreement but also other countries decided to take part in this battle. In fact, in recent months several Asian countries have done so many things for protecting the environment that now Asian countries are at the forefront of dealing with climate change.
It’s a common fact that China’s CO2 emissions are the largest in the world and for many years the country posed a great threat to the atmosphere. But with current policies, China plans to reduce producing non-renewable fossil fuels and invest in producing environmentally-friendly resources. Today China is the largest manufacturer of solar energy in the world. Reducing finance coal-fired power stations and coming up with nuclear power plants is an important step in dealing with current ecological issues.
Asian countries are in the epicenter of the risk. Of course, the impact of climate change is felt globally, but Asian countries are predicted to be among the hardest hit. Especially South and Southeast countries are most at risk. Millions of people who live in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia are particularly vulnerable. Because of these dangers, IUCN started new projects in South Asia to built resilient communities. The main aim is to restore and conserve natural ecosystems which play a major role in avoiding flooding, storms, and other natural catastrophes.
Asian scientists work hard to maintain sustainable livelihoods in the counties of Asia. Current data shows that nowadays they are focused on building adaptive capacity to climate change in these countries, enhancing climate change resilience of rural communities, integrating resilience in mountain ecosystems, promoting clean energy technologies in Central Asia, and investing in environmentally friendly technologies in general. Besides, one of the biggest problems in Asian countries is deforestation and forest degradation. All these new projects help Asian countries tackle climate change and fight against it.
In general, when it comes to pursuing a path towards renewable energy, power providers and energy departments of the governments worry a lot about its costs. However, the governments of several countries set incredibly important goals for protecting the environment. Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka plan to switch to 100% renewable energy. By 2050. This gives us a hopeful forecast that a green economy will advance and potential ecological and economic harms will reduce.
Conclusion
Overall, although the situation is getting worse and the threat posed to climate is higher than ever, people started to acknowledge possible harms and think more about the environment. This is why Asian countries, which are in the middle of the danger, start to develop new strategies and take real actions in making changes and fighting against climate change.
