In recent months, the planet has seen its warmest June and August, as well as the hottest day on record, with a global average temperature of 17.16 °C on July 22, 2024. Many people carried on with their lives as best they could, but the event was likely to raise the level of climate concern. L’Environmental anxietyEnvironmental anxiety First affects those who are most affected by its effects. Climate changeClimate changeEspecially in the countries of the South, but also the climate scientists who document and model them.
How can we overcome this anxiety so as not to paralyze, but to bring ourselves into action? The Conversation Europe spoke with The Conversation to answer this question. MeteorologistMeteorologist Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, Vice President du Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Can you begin by describing your research topic in a few words? What were your most memorable moments during your career as a meteorologist?
I mainly work in the field of energy saving. I have worked a lot. ModelingModelingSpecifically to demonstrate how more efficient buildings can reduce CO emissions.2. In particular, I raised the alert on what we call “lockdown” threats. CarbonCarbon »(Carbon lock-in)) In the field of RenovationRenovation Building energy This is when carbon systems become sustainable, and delays – or even prevents – the transition to low-carbon solutions.
I have always tried to focus on solutions that not only allow us to solve environmental problems, but also improve human well-being and achieve other social goals. This is because I come from a country, Hungary, where I see the environment and climate change as generally taking a backseat to other priorities.
My work therefore led legislators to revise European regulations to strengthen the energy performance of buildings in 2010 (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive). On the same day that the Fidesz government was re-elected, I showed how many jobs could be created. Thanks for the energy recovery.
Based on our research, they are committed to renovating the entire building stock to reduce energy consumption.EnergyEnergy of 60%, which would have been very ambitious indeed, the first commitment of its kind in the world. Unfortunately, a few months later, they changed direction and turned their attention to other priorities. The matterThe matter Energy Policy
Do you also work in extreme weather scenarios? You told me the other day that you were particularly concerned about the possible termination of an important Atlantic current (Amoc)…
That’s one of my concerns, yes, because that’s one of the tipping points (Tipping points) planetary issues that will affect us most rapidly.
Looking at other tipping points in the Earth system, most require a century, several centuries, or even several millennia before they have their full impact. If Amok breaks, on the other hand, its full effects will be felt in just two or three decades. The forecast implications are significant, and concern Europe and other regions. More and more studies show that to fallto fall may already be released. This is really worrying.
Would you say you suffered from environmental anxiety when you started your career? And if not, was there a tipping point when this anxiety arose?
No, when I started, I don’t think we had any knowledge that would point to an existential threat. It just wasn’t solid enough for so many things to go wrong.
From 1992 to 1996 I was working on my doctorate at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Berkeley. The LA Timeswas a two-page ad asking artists to design works of art that would scare someone, which they could place above the depot. Nuclear wasteNuclear waste Yucca Mountain’s high activity site. So that even if people didn’t speak English or understand the text, they could still understand that there was something really dangerous down there.
“We cannot do this to future generations“
At the time, I remember thinking, ” Oh my god, if we can’t dig or walk wherever we want, that’s a big problem. We cannot do this to future generations ” And then there’s the endless news cycle that makes it hard to pinpoint the specific moments that tip you over the edge. One example that comes to mind is the discovery, over time, that perennial pollutants — per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – are everywhere, even in the most remote parts of the planet. No.
These problems are not going to go away on their own, especially because PFAS are persistent pollutants. We will never be able to completely rid the planet of PFAS. The same is the case with microplastics. When we start looking to the future. The eyesThe eyes Open, it can be really scary.
I wouldn’t call it “climate inaction.” It’s easy to think the glass is half empty. But the glass is still half full. A lot has been done since the Paris Agreement of 2015, which in itself was a miracle.
You were there when the deal was made, weren’t you? Can you tell us a few words about it?
It was a happy moment. Previously, if a scientist dared to mention a 1.5°C warming limit compared to pre-industrial levels, they were immediately branded an environmentalist and subjected to the scientist’s scorn. Instead, he was accused of being an activist. Get this type of position, you don’t get financing.
And suddenly, this threshold became a political reality, or at least a political goal. This was very surprising to me, because at the time the science was not very clear about what would happen at +1.5°C.
Thus, in view of the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) asked the IPCC to prepare a special report on 1.5 degrees Celsius. I remember talking about it with colleagues at the time, who were surprised by the style.
Then months passed and those voices faded. When we get to the January plenary session [2016]There was no more voice to say.” We should not make this report. “Scientists have changed course and put a lot of effort into trying to say, ” Well, how do we make sure it’s done right? » They then ran their models to discover that, in fact, not only was it possible to stay below the +1.5°C threshold, but there were many ways to get there.
Yes, I know it’s very unlikely now that we’ll succeed, but he still created a great one. ElanElan A collective fact that is not emphasized enough by the scientific community is that we have stopped the world from warming by 5 to 6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. We are currently on pace for, at worst, +4 °C, but more likely 2.5°C or 3.5°C.
I do not hide anything from them. We often talk about GravityGravity About the situation, because I can’t help but think about all the negative experiences with them in the evening and everything I’ve learned during the day. I feel the need to convey all this to them in the evening.
One of my daughters had severe environmental anxiety for about two years, when she was nine. She accompanied me to a television shoot, where she was allowed into the studio. Before my interview, they played an intense clip StormStorm and fire, the specific effects of climate. But after that she was very scared for a long time.
He slept badly. She constantly feared for her safety. The bodyThe body. He said to me: My God, is it going to burn around us? Are we going to have FloodFlood ? »
A nine-year-old child does not yet understand that these dangers will loom in the future. She was just in a state of fear and anxiety. So it was hard to handle, because there was nothing concrete for him, nothing that he couldn’t verbalize or easily formulate.
And I could not say to him: ” Listen honey, it won’t happen. ».
After a while, I think he realized it wasn’t fatal yet. But all my children are still concerned and many of them want to contribute to the fight against climate change in some way.
For example, my oldest daughter studied medicine, but after her second year, she spent the entire summer crying. She became passionate about climate action and believed there were only two possible paths:
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Either she could become and save the planet. The architectThe architect designing buildings that do not use energy;
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Or, if it was too late, he should try to minimize the damage by staying in the field of medicine.
After struggling with this dilemma for two months, he abandoned his dream of architecture and decided to pursue medicine. It breaks my heart to see how little hope his generation has that the climate crisis will be solved.
What advice would you give to parents whose children suffer from environmental problems?
I think the best way is to turn anxiety into action – to make them understand that they – and we – always have the power to act. Even though we are small, we have an impact that matters. We can vote. We can choose a profession where we can change the world. We can be role models and influence our peers. Social networksSocial networks And many other sources.
In its 6th Assessment Report, the IPCC presents five individual roles we can play to mitigate climate change: investors, consumers, citizens, models, professionals.
It’s not just a question of whether you refuse to take the bag. PlasticPlastic The future at the store is not something that happens to us, it is in our hands. We are all part of systems over which each of us has more influence than we realize.
If your kids started a climate strike, would you support them?
Yes, I think protest is one of the most important ways to make an impact. Additionally, children often have no other tools. This is why they feel uncomfortable: because they don’t have influence yet. They don’t have it.ArgentArgent Expenditure or right to vote. They do not yet have a profession that allows them to influence the world. They feel helpless.
And often, children’s only strength is to protest. It would be even better if we gave them other ways to influence the process.
