SAVE THE CLIMATE, GO TO GLASGOW
From November 1 to 12, leaders from 196 countries will gather in Glasgow, Scotland for COP 26, the annual climate conference hosted by the United Nations. It is time to remind them that the big polluting multinationals have been destroying our planet for far too long. That's why Comac, the PTB student movement, is organising a trip to Glasgow to get active and make our voices heard. Save the climate, go to Glasgow!
Every year, world leaders gather to discuss their plans to combat global warming. This year, the 26th climate conference (COP 26), hosted by the United Nations, will take place in Glasgow. Six years ago, all countries (who participated in the COP) promised in the Paris climate agreement to reduce their emissions in order to stay below 2°C,or even better, 1.5°C of global warming. During this climate conference, countries will have to show what has already been achieved. According to the UN, the promises made in Paris have not been kept: countries need to do at least twice as much to meet their targets.
But we have no more time to lose. According to the latest report of the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, climate change is accelerating and intensifying. We saw it this summer with the floods in Belgium and Germany, the forest fires in Greece, Turkey and California, the extreme heat waves in Canada and Japan ... No region has been spared the consequences. But according to the report it is not too late at all. Every action we take now will influence the climate in which we will live tomorrow.
"Humans pollute", but who are we talking about?
According to the IPCC, the scientific evidence pointing to human responsibility for global warming is clearer and more indisputable than ever. The question is of course: Who are we talking about? According to a study by the PTB, 5 multinationals in our country are responsible for almost as many emissions as all Belgian households combined. If we take the statistics at the global level, 100 multinationals emit 71% of greenhouse gases.
To avoid exceeding 1.5°C of global warming, we must reduce emissions by half in 10 years and reach almost zero emissions in 25 years. This means that we must force the big polluters to reduce their emissions. This can be done by imposing binding emission standards, such as those set in the past to prevent acid rain and holes in the ozone layer. These standards must be calculated by sector and by company in order to take account of technical particularities. In this way, we force them to adapt their production process to make it carbon neutral.
It is time for an ambitious plan
In addition, we need a plan based on the needs of people and nature instead of the needs of profit for the big polluters. To be carbon neutral by 2050, we must reduce our emissions by 65% by 2030. We absolutely must green our energy consumption to make production and transportation carbon neutral. The technical possibilities to achieve this exist. However, if we have to wait until it is more profitable for the multinationals than fossil fuels, it will be too late.
This is why the government has to take charge of things itself. We need a plan to make the massive investments needed in green energy, energy savings through insulation, public transport. In the United States, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez propose something similar with their Green New Deal. In Belgium, the PTB proposes an ambitious plan of public investments.
Save the climate, go to Glasgow
The signal to Glasgow is clear. We cannot stop global warming without tackling the biggest polluters, the multinationals. That's why we invite you to come with Comac to Glasgow. Interested? Contact us via international@ptb.be.
