We Can Do It

 

The global challenge of climate change seems overwhelming at times. But the world has solved large environmental problems before that seemed insurmountable at the time, writes Hannah Ritchie, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford. A key example is acid rain. Acid rain was the leading environmental problem of the 1990s, causing devastating ecological damage. Plus, it was an international problem. Government officials signed international agreements, placed emissions limits on power plants and started to reduce coal burning. Interventions were incredibly effective. In Europe, sulfur dioxide emissions fell by 84 percent and in the U.S. by 90 percent. Some countries have reduced them by more than 98 percent. Key lessons: What can we learn from the acid rain success? Low-cost technological solutions are key. It’s also important to recognize that agreements and treaties take time and evolve through multiple negotiations and iterations. And, individual efforts of policy makers and politicians matter more than their political party or affiliation.  What can be done: Climate change is more complicated than acid rain or other previous environmental challenges, like curbing the ozone hole. Addressing a warming world means rebuilding energy, transport and food systems. It will involve every country, and almost every sector. “To accelerate action, we need to have the expectation that things can move faster,” says Ritchie. “That’s where past lessons come in; we should use them to understand that these expectations are not unrealistic.”

Credit: John Knight; Source: Data Explorer: Air Pollution, Our World in Data Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a cause of acid rain. This chart shows the dramatic rise and fall of SO2 emissions relative to the peak of emissions in each country or region, which occurred at different times.  --Scientific American