As yet another Earth Day passes by, the world continues to grapple with the consequences of climate change. From the devastating floods in Germany and China to the wildfires in California and Australia, extreme weather events have become a regular occurrence, disrupting lives and livelihoods across the globe. As stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, human-induced climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, droughts, and storms. The immediate and long-term effects of climate change are already being felt across the globe, and urgent action is needed to limit the rise in global temperatures and prevent further damage to our planet.
South Korea grapples with extreme weather amidst growing calls for urgent climate action
According to “The Republic of Korea’s Adaptation Communication: A Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change” released by the Ministry of Environment on March 23, climate change in South Korea is progressing more rapidly than the global average.
The distribution of monthly average temperatures in South Korea over the past 109 years has increased by 1.6 degrees Celsius, making it higher than the global average increase of 1.09 degrees. The sea surface temperature has also risen by 1.23 degrees Celsius over the past 50 years, which is 2.6 times higher than the global average.
In the fight against climate change, South Korea faces unique challenges due to its small size and high population density, according to Professor Lee Sang-Don from the Environmental Science and Engineering major.
“Another reason is congested urbanization,” Lee explained. “This makes major cities such as Seoul, Busan, or Incheon particularly susceptible to climate change indicators such as temperature increase and carbon dioxide concentration.”
One of the most noticeable long-term consequences of rapid climate change is the early shift of the spring flowering time, which Lee defined as a significant phenological dissonance.
“This impacts the entire taxonomy making up the ecology, as all fauna and flora are interdependent,” Lee warned. “If flowering happens earlier while other species are less sensitive to change, it implies severe ecological mismatches.”
A visible outcome of this phenomenon is the decline of the honeybee population, who are vital pollinators of the ecosystem. Lee cautioned that if this continues, farmers will have to manually pollinate their fruits and crops, which not only is strenuous but also has a very low success rate.
The Korean government has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and intends to cut down on 40 percent of its carbon emissions by 2030, compared to that of 2018. Lee noted that these ambitious policies will likely impact the industrial sector the most, as it will be responsible for reducing emissions from 14.5 to 11.3 percent.
Additionally, Lee believes that more needs to be done to educate young people on environmental issues, and recommends university students to become active monitors of climate change. He emphasized that it is most crucial to stay voluntarily informed and involved in climate action.
Australian bushfire season and record-breaking flooding spark climate action
The 2019 to 2020 Australian bushfire season followed by record-breaking flooding in the country has charted at the top list of the climate conversation.
“Nearly a billion dollars has been spent just in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, and the social cost of this disruption to the community is huge of course,” said Nicky Hutley, an independent Economic consultant and Councilor of Climate Council of Australia.
Australia seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reaching 5 percent below 2000 levels by 2020 and reaching 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, under the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement respectively. These goals are centered around the Emissions Reduction Fund. One main component of the fund is the safeguard mechanism, which puts a limit to greenhouse gas emissions on large industrial facilities.
However, there has been criticism of its effectiveness and practicality. Failures in setting a standard limit were reported as companies were oftentimes allowed to increase their emission baseline without any penalty.
“The Australian government itself acknowledges that current policies will not get us to a 43 percent reduction in emissions by 2030,” Hutley explained. “The current estimate is 40 percent.”
The most recent breakthrough on climate policy in Australia was the passing of the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2023 on March 30, 2023, which would cap emissions on the 215 biggest polluters in Australia under stricter baseline.
Yet the heavy strain brought up concerns of job loss in the fossil fuel industry, alongside decline in its general exports.
However, according to Hutley, direct fossil fuel employment was not significant in the Australian economy. In fact, mining and resources took a mere two percent of employment. Rather, new job opportunities were created with the shift to green economy, transitioning from the fossil fuel industry to renewable energy.
“In addition, with plentiful cheap renewable energy, there is the opportunity to produce green manufactured goods such as iron and steel,” she added. “There are currently pilot plants for all these opportunities in Australia.”
Meanwhile, Hutley shared other new climate policies were expected to be announced in the Australian Federal budget, the government’s annual statement on how it plans to collect and spend money, this May.
Navigating China’s climate action challenges through renewable energy goals and initiatives
China’s geography and prominent global role makes the country an important player in the climate change battle. However, recent cases of extreme weather including thick sandstorms and heat waves has swept the over the nation.
China’s updated nationally determined contribution (NDC), a climate action plan updated every five years, includes the country’s policy announcement of “peaking emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060.”
Chunping Xie, a Senior Policy Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment in the London School of Economics and Political Science, however, emphasized the need to strengthen wind and solar installation targets in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
“Although the production of wind and solar energy has increased, it is not enough to replace fossil fuels, as 60 percent of China’s energy consists of coal,” she explained. “Therefore, China will need to establish an entirely new energy supply system centered on renewable energy.”
In accordance with the NDC, China is creating a new power system and energy, featuring wind and solar power as key components. This has proven fruitful, and Xie mentioned China’s record of 125 GW in solar photovoltaic and wind farms in 2022, upping total renewable capacity to 1,213 GW which took up 47 percent of China's total installed generation capacity and overtook coal installed capacity for the first time.
Xie also mentioned The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an initiative aiming to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia, Europe, Africa, and beyond, to form a new Silk Road Economic Belt.
In 2021, China upheld its commitment to stop building new coal projects abroad, and renewable energy investment volumes reached a new height of US$6.3 billion through the BRI. Xie further noted that China’s strengths in financing and green technology present a significant opportunity to support other countries, particularly developing countries, in charting a new road to zero-carbon growth.
However, Xie warned that China must also be aware of the drawbacks of the BRI. The initiative's success depends on a transparent and understanding partnership among participating countries.
“China should take its decisions with careful thought over how its BRI partners will be taking theirs, and what forms the partnerships will take,” Xie concluded.