Climate Change – Both a Threat and an Opportunity

Coordinator of Corporate Sustainability Academy

Global Compact Network Georgia

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

According to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the average temperature of the Earth’s surface has risen by 1.8°C since the end of the 19th century, mainly due to the release of unprecedented amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and other adverse environmental activities. For instance, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere today as a result of human activity is growing 250 times faster than it did after the period of recent glacial period from natural sources.

It is a fact that climate change is not an abstract phenomenon and its effect on our daily lives is confirmed by concrete measurable and tangible facts. Increased heat absorption is mainly from the world ocean, which has led to an average increase in water temperature of 0.33°C since 1969. As a consequence, according to a NASA study, between 1993 and 2019, Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tonnes of ice per year, while the Arctic lost 148 billion tonnes. The volume and height of glaciers around the world, from the Alps to the Himalayas and to the Andes, are decreasing. The results of satellite observations show that in the last five decades the spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased sharply and melting is increasing. The sea level, the amount of forest fires and other extreme events have risen. All these ultimately not only cause irreparable damage to the environment in which we live, but also directly affects people’s health and their development prospects. The number of infectious diseases and the rate of their spread are increasing, soil productivity is decreasing and drinking water resources are rapidly depleting.

Glenn Snyder, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina, wrote in his 1990 book The Politics of Alliances that an alliance entails common expectations of support and a balance of interests against a common challenge between two or more countries. The magnitude of the concurrence of interests, i.e., how strong or weak they are, depends on the degree of overall challenge/rivalry. Formal alliances reinforce existing coalitions or create entirely new ones with commitment, thoroughness, legal and regulatory commitments, and public visibility.

Discussing climate change and finding ways to address the current challenge is one of the main issues on the 21st century international community agenda. To this end, 196 international actors (states, UN observers, non-governmental organizations, etc.) participated in the 2015 negotiations in Paris. An agreement was reached at the Conference which set out the basic principles and objectives that the signatories must have committed to. The document was opened for signature on April 22, 2016, on Earth Day, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The main goal of the Document is to reduce and further eliminate the problems caused by the current climate change on Earth. To do this, the parties to the Agreement believe that it is necessary to hold the average temperature increase on the planet below 2°C, and ideally below 1.5°C. A key issue of the Paris Agreement is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, which is most damaging to the environment and causes climate change that ultimately results in irreversible processes on the planet threatening both humans and their health, as well as biodiversity in general.

The most important measure to evaluate the five-year implementation period of the Paris Agreement, set up future steps, including to enhance cooperation and raise funds for holding off the climate change amongst the business sector, media and non-governmental organizations, the 26th UN Conference on Climate Change, also known as COP26 Conference of the Parties), was planned for 2020 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed to the end of 2021 instead of in 2020, and Scotland hosted participants from 31 October to 12 November.

Glasgow planted 18 million trees in preparation for the Conference hosting, aiming to increase the total green space in Glasgow to 20 per cent.

In the run-up to the Conference, the United Kingdom has somewhat emerged as a role model for the rest of the world being the country that most rapidly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and fully moves to renewable energy and a green economy. For example, as a result of steps taken by the British government, the country’s economy has grown by 78 per cent over the last 30 years while air pollution has reduced by 44 per cent. And while by 2021 40 per cent of the country’s electricity supply was obtained from coal processing, by 2021 this figure has reduced to 2 per cent and by 2024 it will be fully replaced by solar and wind energy. Consequently, the United Kingdom will become the first country to emit 78 per cent less greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by 2035. The example of the host country of COP26 shows that through the joint efforts of the state and business it is completely realistic to change the mindset, and to move to a green economy so that the economy not only does not shrink but grows faster.

As part of COP26, the United States has also announced its ambition to switch to renewable energy by 2035, with President Biden’s administration putting climate change as one of its top priorities along with tackling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and restoring the economy. The same position was taken by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, addressing world leaders gathered at the Conference with an initiative to make the post-pandemic economic recovery process an opportunity to introduce green economic principles and reduce environmental damage. According to the President of the European Commission, the EU will attach great importance to the effective implementation of the principles set out in the Paris and Glasgow Agreements when considering opportunities for financial assistance to member and partner countries in the coming years.

“Securing a brighter future for our children and future generations requires countries to take urgent action at home and abroad to turn the tide on climate change. It is with ambition, courage and collaboration as we approach the crucial COP26 summit in the UK that we can seize this moment together, so we can recover cleaner, rebuild greener and restore our planet.”- Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

While the main locomotive of climate change policymaking and implementation is governments, it is undeniable that private initiatives can change people’s thinking and therefore behavior most rapidly and effectively. That is why business has become the focus of the largest-ever UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. Businesses that have taken the initiative and implemented green standards, by taking responsibility and replacing traditional energy with renewable resources have been named preferred partners by financial corporations and the richest countries in the world.

Sustainable Development Goal 13, which implies the achievement of climate sustainability, is becoming increasingly relevant not only in the policy of states, but also in the decision-making process of large investment corporations. The implementation of this principle in practice is ultimately one of the crucial factors in the global competition and the opportunity for growth for businesses of any size and sector.