7 . Old Problem，New Approaches

While clean energy is increasingly used in our daily life, global warming will continue for some decades after CO₂emissions (排放) peak. So even if emissions were to begin to decrease today, we would still face the challenge of adapting to climate change. Here I will stress some smarter and more creative examples of climate adaptation.

When it comes to adaptation, it is important to understand that climate change is a process. We are therefore not talking about adapting to a new standard, but to a constantly shifting set of conditions. This is why, in part at least, the US National Climate Assessment says that, “There is no ‘one­size fits all’ adaptation.” Nevertheless, there are some actions that offer much and carry little risk or cost.

Around the world, people are adapting in surprising ways, especially in some poor countries. Floods have become more damaging in Bangladesh in recent decades. Mohammed Rezwan saw opportunity where others saw only disaster. His not­for­profit organization runs 100 river boats that serve as floating libraries, schools, and health clinics, and are equipped with solar panels and other communicating facilities. Rezwan is creating floating connectivity (连接) to replace flooded roads and highways. But he is also working at a far more fundamental level: his staff show people how to make floating gardens and fish ponds to prevent starvation during the wet season.

Elsewhere in Asia even more astonishing actions are being taken. Chewang Norphel lives in a mountainous region in India, where he is known as the Ice Man. The loss of glaciers (冰川) there due to global warming represents an enormous threat to agriculture. Without the glaciers, water will arrive in the rivers at times when it can damage crops. Norphel’s inspiration came from seeing the waste of water over winter, when it was not needed. He directed the wasted water into shallow basins where it froze, and was stored until the spring. His fields of ice supply perfectly timed irrigation (灌溉) water. Having created nine such ice reserves, Norphel calculates that he has stored about 200,000 m³of water. Climate change is a continuing process, so Norphel’s ice reserves will not last forever. Warming will overtake them. But he is providing a few years during which the farmers will, perhaps, be able to find other means of adapting.

Increasing Earth’s reflectiveness can cool the planet. In southern Spain the sudden increase of greenhouses (which reflect light back to space) has changed the warming trend locally, and actually cooled the region. While Spain as a whole is heating up quickly, temperatures near the greenhouses have decreased. This example should act as an inspiration for all cities. By painting buildings white, cities may slow down the warming process.In Peru, local farmers around a mountain with a glacier that has already fallen victim to climate change have begun painting the entire mountain peak white in the hope that the added reflectiveness will restore the life­giving ice. The outcome is still far from clear. But the World Bank has included the project on its list of “100 ideas to save the planet”．

More ordinary forms of adaptation are happening everywhere. A friend of mine owns an area of land in western Victoria. Over five generations the land has been too wet for cropping. But during the past decade declining rainfall has allowed him to plant highly profitable crops. Farmers in many countries are also adapting like this — either by growing new produce, or by growing the same things differently. This is common sense. But some suggestions for adapting are not. When the polluting industries argue that we’ve lost the battle to control carbon pollution and have no choice but to adapt, it’s a nonsense designed to make the case for business as usual.

Human beings will continue to adapt to the changing climate in both ordinary and astonishing ways. But the most sensible form of adaptation is surely to adapt our energy systems to emit less carbon pollution. After all, if we adapt in that way, we may avoid the need to change in so many others.

10 . After about two weeks of intense negotiations in Paris, delegates from around the world reached an international agreement on Dec.12 to address climate change.For the first time in history, 195 countries have promised to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)   emissions and to increase these reductions over time.

The agreement goes beyond requiring developed countries like the US to take actions to cut down emissions.It’s a universal agreement requiring some form of action from every country, rich or poor.

The agreement sets the date for an emissions peak “as soon as possible”.It would also limit warming worldwide to less than 2℃ above the levels in the 1800s.According to scientific studies 2℃ is the point at which climate change will bring destructive consequences to the planet, including rising sea levels, severe droughts, increased flooding, destructive storms, and widespread food and water shortages.

The deal also urges wealthy countries to set a non-binding (没有约束力的) goal of providing more than $100 billion (650 billion yuan) per year in public and private financing by 2020 for poorer countries to help them invest in clean energy and combat the impact of climate change.

The Paris deal asks countries to make voluntary promises based on an analysis of each country’s economy, politics and technology.However, the deal also includes a series of legally binding requirements.It requires countries to reconvene every five years, starting in 2020, with updated plans that would cut their further emissions.Countries will also be legally required to reconvene every five years starting in 2023 to publicly report on their progress.

The Paris deal alone won’t solve global warming.Its effectiveness will depend on whether each country enacts (立法) their promise.But the deal “could be viewed as a signal to global financial and energy markets, triggering a fundamental shift away from investment in coal, oil and gas as primary energy sources like wind, solar and nuclear power”, according to The New York Times.