Reaching Carbon Neutrality

Due to enhanced CO2 concentration in the atmosphere produced by fossil fuel-intensive activities, the impacts of Climate Change intensify. The modification of climate conditions is intrinsically related to changes to forest biodiversity, rainfall, air temperature, plants resistance to pests and disease, forests susceptible to fires, droughts contingencies, etc.

Despite the slightly reduced carbon emissions since the COVID-19 pandemic, carbon dioxide levels are still rising and the below 2°C goal of the Paris Agreement is not achievable anymore. And the consequences of Climate Change have brought us already to a threshold. Warmer oceans, expanding deserts, water scarcity, uncontrollable fires, floods, storms, etc., and all of these events have entered the standard vocabulary of everyone's daily discussions.

Entire ecosystems are collapsing, and some are threatened with complete extinction. Indeed, the leading climate indicators are aggravating, with disturbing figures facing consistent growth. According to Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, "[…] science tells us that unless we cut fossil fuel production by 6 percent every year between now and 2030, things will get worse. Instead, the world is on track for a 2 percent annual rise."

Society must take this as a warning, and international organizations must start to work together. Recent signs of cooperation, like the Carbon Neutral Coalition, have emerged, showing us some hope that collaboration can lead us to a chance of positive transformation. However, after almost six years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, signed among the most powerful nations and those committed to mitigating the effects of Climate Change, many experts argue this deal is insufficient, as "[...] there are too many loopholes when it comes to operationalization, too much room for interpretation of how these efforts must be conducted and shared."

Moreover, mitigation of climate change by solely reducing emissions, will not make us achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement or even come close. Hence, we have to look into measures by actively sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.

Nonetheless, besides international conventions, real change will only happen if action is taken at all levels, from individual to collective decisions. Opportunely, we count on a crucial ally in doing so: technology.

As an effort to draw possible solutions to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, Envisioning, together with GIZ, decided to create a series of editorial pieces focused on elaborating ideas for reducing atmospheric carbon with the help of emerging technologies. These pieces include an interview with Hansjörg Lerchenmüller, Chairman of the Board of the European Biochar Industry, a sci-fi chronicle disclosing the impacts of emerging technologies in the climate, and a list of the top five techs working as an engine towards carbon neutrality.

These pieces are expected to give us a wealth of ideas to approach our worldly crises, pulling strings to protect worldwide biomes and ecosystems, fauna, flora, and the integrity of human society.