Western Europe has done more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than any other part of the world over the last three decades.
Significantly expanded solar and wind power. Introduced carbon taxes and other policies to increase the cost of dirty energy. Overall, the European Union has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by about 30% since 1990. This far exceeds the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, or other wealthy countries.
However, advances in clean energy in Europe have not protected the continent from the widespread destruction of global warming. “That’s the problem with CO2,” he said, referring to carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, as his colleague Henry Fountain said. “It doesn’t respect borders.”
The UK experienced the hottest temperature on record yesterday, about 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat waves are especially problematic because many of the UK are not designed to withstand high temperatures. The average average maximum temperature in July in London is in the late to mid-1970s.
Many British homes are not only air-conditioned, but also built with heat-retaining materials. Most parts of the London Underground system are also unair-conditioned. On Monday, an airport had to stop flying for hours after the heat damaged the runway. To prevent the dilapidated Hammersmith Bridge from collapsing, workers wrapped some of it in foil to prevent the cracks from expanding.
The temperature in Paris also exceeded 104 degrees yesterday, reaching its highest temperature in two days from the late 1800s. In southwestern France, firefighters fought wildfires for eight consecutive days. In Greece, arid conditions caused wildfires north of Athens, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Firefighters are also fighting fire in Portugal and Spain.
It all reminds us of the extreme dangers of climate change and the unreasonable burden it poses.
Why Europe?
As experts have long pointed out, the biggest injustices are associated with low-income countries that are severely damaged because they already tend to get hot. The Horn of Africa is suffering from drought, and South Africa, Chile and Brazil are facing water shortages.
These same countries have produced only a small portion of their cumulative greenhouse gases since industrialization began. These gases tend to come from electricity usage, operation, and other forms of economic production. Africa, for example, produces about 4 percent of past emissions. (These graphs by my colleagues Nadja Popovich and Brad Plume can be used to look up numbers for the United States, China, and other countries.)
Europe is now becoming another example of the unfair burden of climate change, at least compared to other rich countries that have accounted for most of past emissions. To be sure, not all European clean energy policies have been successful. But the downside can mask the reality that it has made more progress in reducing emissions than anywhere else.One of the reasons: In contrast to the Republican position in the United States, the Conservatives there tend to agree that climate change requires a response.
Despite these reductions, Europe is becoming one of the hotspots of the world’s new climate.
why? Both slowing winds and weakening currents in the region can play a role. (If more details are needed, Henry Fountain will explain.) Henry says experts are still discussing the cause. But scientists agree that the current heat wave in Europe would not occur without anthropogenic climate change. “At this point, global warming affects all heat waves,” he said.
Russia and the future
It is unclear how hot Europe will be in the future, as it depends on what the world will do to combat climate change. The United States appears to have withdrawn from aggressive action due to a Supreme Court ruling and opposition to President Biden’s climate bill from Republican and West Virginia senators Joe Manchin.
It is also unclear whether Europe will continue its rapid transition to clean energy. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led the EU and Britain to look for energy sources other than Russia’s gas. Alternative energies such as coal and liquefied gas can eventually become polluted, said Somini Sengupta, anchor of the Times Climate Forward Newsletter.
The EU has promised to make up for the difference and has enacted several new policies in the last few weeks. By banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in 2035, the transition to electric vehicles will be accelerated. The EU will also expand solar and wind power even further than previously planned.
If these policies are maintained, the EU will probably continue to lead the world in reducing greenhouse gases. “Concerns about large-scale climate change by the European Union may be exaggerated,” said John Einger and AKSHAT RATHI of Bloomberg. I wrote last week..
Either way, it’s almost not enough to avoid terrible climate damage, as Europe is experiencing this week.
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The showtime talk show “Desus & Mero” is nearing its end, ending a nine-year partnership that has driven Bronx-raised hosts to stardom. In web series, podcasts, and television shows, Desus Nice (Daniel Baker) and Kid Mero (Joel Martinez) have abandoned soliloquy crafted for a looser style. In the process, they interviewed Barack Obama, Derek Jeter, Denzel Washington, and Yo-Yo Ma.
The duo did everything from a black perspective, which is rarely seen in late-night comedies. “I enjoy Jimmy Kimmel and James Corden,” said actress Lena Weiss, but with Desas and Melo, “I went to my favorite cousin’s crib and said what happened that day. I felt like I was talking about what was happening. “