Region-wise Climate Risks

Every region faces more severe or frequent compound and/or cascading climate risks in the near term.

such as agroforestry, conservation agriculture, and reforestation, can help mitigate the effects of climate change while also supporting food security and biodiversity.

Invest in climate resilience: Climate change is already causing devastating impacts, such as extreme weather events, sea level rise, and food insecurity. It is essential to invest in climate resilience measures, such as early warning systems, improved infrastructure, and disaster risk reduction strategies.

Support sustainable urbanization: Cities are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, but they also offer opportunities for sustainable development. Supporting sustainable urbanization, such as through public transportation, green buildings, and waste reduction initiatives, can help reduce emissions while also improving quality of life.

Strengthen international cooperation: Climate change is a global problem that requires global solutions. Countries need to work together to reduce emissions, share best practices, and provide support to vulnerable countries and communities.

Issues for Implementation

Despite global efforts, progress toward sustainable development and addressing climate change remains uneven. Many countries are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels and high-carbon industries, and the impacts of climate change are already being felt in many regions, including more frequent and severe natural disasters, rising sea levels, and loss of biodiversity.

Some of the worrying aspects of events that pose a challenge to the efforts of reducing global warming are related to current events. The war in Ukraine has resulted in the disruption of energy supplies. Europe is planning to reopen coalbased power generating stations.

Despite the best efforts, the oceans have not been able to meet the sustainable development goals. 14% of the coral reefs, called the rainforest of the seas, have already been lost. 17 million metric tonnes of plastics are already in the oceans and are threatening marine life. Eutrophication due to excess nutrient pollution has increased dead zones to 700. Oceans-based actions can contribute 20% to the reduction of GHG by 2050.

Another conundrum is in the energy sector. Replacing coal and oil-based power will require the mining of a huge number and amount of minerals. For example, to meet the 2-degree limit, the demand for lithium needed for energy systems will rise by 2050 to 488% of the amount mined up to 2018. Mining activities produce enormous amounts of GHG, require high volumes of water, and may add to the pollution of water and air, and land.

Add to these other minerals such as cobalt, nickel, etc needed for various alternative energy systems and the picture becomes more complicated. Most of these minerals are located in politically unstable countries which may already be under severe unsustainable developmental stress. Many minerals are located in a single country. For example, China produces 96.67% of the world’s

Gallium which is needed in the semiconductor industry.

Conclusion

There is a long haul ahead. Analysis shows that time is running out for the world in terms of mitigation, adaptation, and trade-offs for climate justice. The effects on sustainable development have been well documented and the synergy between the two is clear. Climate justice will aid Sustainable Development and vice versa.

There are major issues. While small island countries like Grenada have created a Digital Twin to help assist their actions, larger and poor countries, may not find the going that easy. The cost of implementation is a major issue. The triad of government, civil sector, and industry have to work together to find and implement solutions specific to each country.

In the end, it is all about social equity, justice, and sustainability of the environment and people. Development cannot stop but reduced options for development and degradation of the ecosystem are not acceptable.

To mitigate the effects of climate change on the SDGs, a comprehensive and coordinated approach is needed that involves government, business, civil society, and individuals. This will require significant investment and effort, but the benefits of a more sustainable and resilient future will be well worth it. Managing Editor

Prof. Arup Dasgupta

arup@geospatialworld.net