How Countries & Cities are Thinking about Climate Change
By: Maria Badasian
Tags: Government, Economy, Environment, Solutions, Nature

There’s an Instagram post that’s four pages long. It’s a list titled Good News for People Worried about the Earth. None of the bullet points use capitalized words. It implements the words “stuff” and “like,” taking a casual approach to communicate these laws, motions, and plans that various countries, celebrities, and big corps are incorporating.

This article takes the points on the list focusing on countries’ and cities’ action plans. I want to know more, so I’m researching each of these points to understand these plans, laws, and declarations.

Through my research, I found actions that countries and cities are taking that reflect progress. Words revolving around environmental issues are trending, and the eco-friendly movement is slowly taking place in people’s homes. However, a large part of the problem is different governments not being swayed to take real action. It’s sometimes complicated for a government to get on board with making changes to reverse climate change because it costs more. That being said, there are many cities, states, and countries that are taking significant steps.

Countries that are planning and doing

We can’t ignore that the government is in control. They have an opportunity to use their power for good. To be able to improve people’s lives results in the growth of the country, therefore the economy.

Future growth will need to be based on an increasingly globalised world that offers new opportunities but also new challenges. New technologies offer not only ‘catch-up’ potential but also ‘leapfrogging’ possibilities. New science offers better prospects across both productive and service sectors. Future growth will also need to be environmentally sustainable. Improved management of water and other natural resources is required, together with movement towards low carbon technologies by both developed and developing countries. — OECD

The Instagram list mentioned earlier includes a few countries’ plans to make changes that will have huge impacts on their citizens and the world’s environment. And some countries have already made big changes. Others are still working out the details.

“China plans on making a ‘forest city’ to help clean up the air.”

In China, air pollution is a serious problem. In China specifically, because many farmers are leaving the country, it is possible to rebuild the city this way. The project takes place north of Liuzhou and should be finished in the next few years. The architects behind this are an Italian studio, Stefano Boeri Architetti, that specializes in environmentally-focused urban design.

Model of Forest City by Stefano Boeri Architetti

Almost a million plants will be placed in buildings, between buildings, in streets, etc. The density of plants will help insulate noise, lower the temperature of the air, absorb CO2 and fine dust, improve biodiversity giving homes for animals, birds, and insects. It seems that the project is already underway with people buying property and the government investing billions into it. You can read more about this in Neomania Magazine’s article written in April 2020.

The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution causes around 7 million premature deaths each year.

“An increasing number of countries and states are beginning to ban single-use plastics.”

Yes, and there are some real consequences attached to the use of single-use plastics in some countries.

According to Global Citizen and The Ladders, 15 African countries have banned plastic bags over the last few years, starting with Rwanda in 2008. In Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, and Zimbabwe, citizens will get fined or even sent to jail for using and making plastic bags or styrofoam. European countries are taking momentous steps to eliminate most single-use plastics, including France and the UK. Parts of the US, Canada, Australia, Latin American, the Caribbean islands, Asia, Eastern Europe, Caucasia, and the Pacific are banning bags, bottles, and straws. China has stopped importing plastics for recycling in the country to improve air quality and citizen’s quality of life. Many countries such as Iceland, Rwanda, and Taiwan have plans set in place to be completely sustainable between 2020 to 2050.

However, there are studies linking viruses and reusable grocery bags that haven’t been cleaned — so some of these bans have been put on hold due to the recent outbreak. Despite all this, it looks like huge chunks of every part of the world are making strides in removing plastic.

“China plans on spending 360 billion dollars to improve renewable energy and has scrapped plans for coal-powered plants that were going to be built.”

There are many reasons why China is aiming to use more renewable energy. Every five years, they create a budget strategy for the country. IEA explains that for the 13th FYP (five-year plan) in 2016, they planned to spend $360 billion on creating offshore wind and ocean power systems, and a 15% increase of non-fossil energy. The 14th FYP plans are coming out in early 2021.

The coal industry has helped almost a billion people out of poverty. The question now is whether China wants to focus on short-term economic growth or long-term sustainable growth. The country still has goals to fight climate change, and there has been a decrease in the energy produced by coal. According to Carbon Brief, coal-powered electricity dropped from 81% in 2007 to 54% in 2019. We’ll have to wait and see if the next five-year plan includes building new coal energy facilities.

“A national park has been built in the Amazon (3.3 mil acres in Peru) to preserve the rainforest.”

Plans to build the Sierra del Divisor National Park started in 2015, approved by the Peruvian president.

Peruvian Landscape with Jungle, photo by Conscious Design

The reason is to protect the rainforest where many indigenous tribes live and are home to 300 species of fish and 3,500 plant species, and is where about 165 million metric tons of above-ground carbon is stored, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse emission. Who needs protection from those who want to profit from the land, such as illegal loggers and poachers. The project is also investing in technology, such as smartphones that will work deep in the forest, GPS systems, camera traps, and drones used to patrol and monitor any threats to the forest.

“The creation of this park would not have been possible without their strong support because communities know that their future depends on the local ecosystem’s health. The next step is to help provide them with the technical and legal tools to meet challenges on their native lands from extractive industries.” — Lelis Rivera, Director of CEDIA.

“South Korea is now recycling 95% of food waste.”

Korea realized that the food culture caused waste, with many little appetizers (called banchan) left uneaten during a meal. Now they have a smart system that recycles food. It gets used for compost, animal feed, methane gas or solid fuel. It went 2% of food recycling in 1995 to 95% in 2019. The Korean government started setting regulations in 2003, creating a system starting with the residents ending with processing food waste.

South Korea, photo by Mike Swigunski

“Puerto Rico wants to use all renewable energy by 2050 and is setting official goals for that.”

In 2019, a bill was signed, the Public Energy Policy Law of Puerto Rico, to use only renewable energy by 2050. The reason for doing this, aside from the rising use of fossil fuel, is that the electrical system is so separate from the primary power grid and is poorly maintained. After Hurricane Maria, it became clear that the electrical system can’t be the sole system, as it left many homes with no power for months. No energy resulted in food spoilage, unusable drugs, and sanitation shortages. In conclusion, the current electrical system is not sustainable in an isolated island prone to massive hurricanes. Citizens understand this fact, and many business owners and homeowners installed solar panels and batteries on their rooftops since the storm.

“20 countries in Africa are planning to make a ‘green wall’ of trees and plants that will span the width of Africa to stop desertification.”

You may have heard snippets of news on Africans migrating, trying to cross borders into Europe due to desertification. People cannot work their lands, there is no food; therefore increasing poverty levels. There is no choice but to find opportunities elsewhere or suffer at home. It’s a dangerous journey; people get sold, killed, they have to endure long trips and avoid the military. The reason is desertification.

The Great Green Wall, Africa

The Green Wall movement began in 2007. The goal is to grow an 8,000km wall of trees across the African continent. It’s only about 15% underway. This initiative starts in the Sahel, one of the world’s poorest places, yet they are in the frontlines of the climate change issue. Already, the wall is bringing job, water, and food security into people’s lives.

This new natural wonder development uses sustainable energy, bringing opportunities to women, making people’s lives easier and healthier, slowing down migration, boosting the economy, and improving the development of the region and continent. The Green Wall is taking place where people need it the most, and temperatures are rising the fastest.

“Ireland and the UK have declared a climate emergency.”

After the UK, Ireland is the second country in the world to declare a climate emergency in April/May 2019. Thirty countries have followed suit since then. The Wales parliament was the very first to do this. It’s not the entire country taking action, but each principality, borough, organization, and council has their own intention to go completely carbon-neutral. They are devising full action-plans and setting dates for their goals. You can read all about these plans here.

Fun fact, “climate emergency” is Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year.

In the US, “Maine has banned styrofoam” and “NYC and LA have both made ‘Green New Deals.’”

The Green New Deal is an ambitious, but doable, motion to tackle climate change. Many members of Congress are behind it. The American government may not be on board on a federal level, but the Sierra Club assures us that by 2018, now 100 cities nationwide have committed to working towards 100% clean energy. The L.A. Green New Deal proposes creating jobs in the renewable energy industry to make 100% zero-carbon electricity, buildings, and transportation system. Southern California is the worst region for smog pollution.

As far as New York City, the problem is not so many cars as buildings, which are responsible for about 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, therefore writing The Climate Mobilization Act in 2019. Real estate agents were against it, saying it was costly. Still, De Blasio eventually came around to saying that NYC threatened by climate change, and efficient buildings are a big part of the solution. This bill is fittingly nicknamed the “dirty buildings” bill. The penalty forces landlords that don’t meet the standards to pay a fine of up to millions per year.

The NYC Green New Deal addresses more. It proposes changing school buses and other public transportation systems into electrical, and the city is allowing urban farming developments. Also, more investments are made for research that looks into closing oil-fueled plants to be replaced by renewable energy facilities.