CALL TO ARMS!
CALL TO ARMS!
A recent letter in NATURE by two prominent Greek scientists[i] brings to the forefront, what must surely have been in most people’s minds: that recent emergency energy policy is at odds with emergency climate policy.
The tragic events that unfolded, with the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis, was soon followed by an unforeseen energy crisis, the operative word here being “unforeseen”.
None could have predicted this development. None would have ever imagined that Russia would turn off (for all intends and purposes) gas supplies to Europe. And given that Europe relies heavily on Russian fossil fuels, it soon found itself immersed in an emergency energy crisis, which can only get worse in the coming winter.
The under panic response was a fossil fuel bonanza that surpassed even the wilder dreams of the fossil fuel industry. Coal and lignite thermal stations were reopened, imported LNG orders skyrocketed and new hydrocarbon explorations were approved, ordered or wished for.
“What about the climate?” one may ask.
“What climate?” is the short answer.
No scientific study, no model, no calculations included a disruptive parameter of this magnitude in their analysis.
So where is the climate going post Ukraine?
Nobody can answer with certainty, as first of all is not clear for how long this disruption will continue to outdate all previous climate and energy studies.
The scientific world and their spearhead body IPCC have to intervene immediately to redress the balance by producing credible studies that will advise and inform the required climate policy to lead us back to the straight and narrow path of the 1.5oC Paris goal.
Dr. Ioannis Tsipouridis
[i] Nature Correspondence “Europe’s energy crisis — climate community must speak up” Haris Doukas, Alexandros Nikas National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
cover photo source: https://medium.com/@tal.beelen/a-call-to-arms-f829e014cedf
Mar 12, 2020
