Fighting Climate Change Through the Development of Renewable Energy
By: John Steve Espina
INTRODUCTION
One of the important issues we are dealing with today is the climate change, which demands quick response. There are a few ways to slow down climate change, but the best one is to convert from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, which can both save and heal the planet.
Figure 1: Trends in global average surface temperature between 1993 and 2022 in degrees Fahrenheit per decade [6].
Understanding Climate Change
NASA defines climate change as "a broad range of global phenomena, primarily caused by greenhouse emissions, which increase the amount of heat-trapping gases in the Earth's atmosphere". Such emissions primarily come from two sources: natural systems and human activity. According to [1], Forest fires, mud volcanoes, earthquakes, marshes, oceans, and volcanoes are among the natural systems. While human activity is mostly focused on the generation of energy, there are also industrial activities, forestry, land use, and land-use change-related activities [2].
The major GHG, carbon dioxide (CO2), is now at 411 ppm in the atmosphere, which is higher than it has ever been [4] [5] . As a result, there are adverse effects on human and natural systems that are detrimental to human health and way of life. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase at the same rate as they have over the last 10 years, global warming is predicted to reach
1.5 °C between 2030 and 2052 [4].
Figure 1 shows how the average surface temperature of Earth has increased abnormally quickly during the past century, primarily as a result of greenhouse gases released from the burning of fossil fuels. The rate of temperature increase has roughly doubled over the last 50 years. Increases in temperature will continue when neglected.
Role of Renewable Energy in Climate Change
To lessen the worst impacts of climate change, emissions must be reduced. In order to do this, we must stop relying on fossil fuels and begin investing in dependable, affordable, accessible, and clean alternative energy sources. Carbon emissions are reduced by using renewable energy sources. Solar energy, biofuels, hydrogen, hydropower, tidal power, ocean thermal power, wind power, and geothermal power are some of the most important renewable energy sources in this regard [3].
Furthermore, Renewable energy sources are acknowledged as one of the potential methods to combat climate change because to their low secondary waste production, limited environmental impact, and capacity to be used responsibly in light of both present and future social and economic
needs. By switching to renewable energy technology from conventional energy sources, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and global warming can be slowed.
Conclusion
As the world around us changes quickly, so does the demand for energy and the services that go along with it to support human welfare, social, and economic development. It's a great idea that we must adopt renewable energy sources to help combat climate change, and this move must be sustainable to fulfill future generations' energy demands. Nations from all around the world are now starting to understand how critical it is to find solutions to the current energy problems. Emerging nations are suddenly aware of the importance of implementing such energy source strategies, whereas industrialized nations have been investing in renewable energy for the last 20 years [7].
References:
Xi-Liu YUE, Qing-Xian GAO,Contributions of natural systems and human activity to greenhouse gas emissions, Advances in Climate Change Research, Volume 9, Issue 4, 2018, Pages 243-252, ISSN 1674-9278, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2018.12.003.
Detlef P. van Vuuren, Elke Stehfest, David E.H.J. Gernaat, Jonathan C. Doelman, Maarten van den Berg, Mathijs Harmsen, Harmen Sytze de Boer, Lex F. Bouwman, Vassilis Daioglou, Oreane
Y. Edelenbosch, Bastien Girod, Tom Kram, Luis Lassaletta, Paul L. Lucas, Hans van Meijl, Christoph Müller, Bas J. van Ruijven, Sietske van der Sluis, Andrzej Tabeau, Energy, land-use and greenhouse gas emissions trajectories under a green growth paradigm, Global Environmental Change, Volume 42, 2017, Pages 237-250, ISSN 0959-
3780,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2016.05.008.
Aparupa Pani, Shivanand S. Shirkole, Arun S. Mujumdar. (2023) Expert reviews for assessment of recent developments and future prospectives of global drying R&D. Drying Technology 41:3, pages 335-338.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2018. Global Warming of 1.5 °C. http://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf, Accessed date: 28 November 2018.
NASA, 2019. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/, Accessed date: 26 March 2019.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2023). State of the Climate: Global Climate Report for 2022. Accessed January 18, 2023, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202213.
Comments
Post a Comment