On the evening of 5th February 2010, we attended an informative talk delivered by Dr. Leong Shie-Yui and Dr. Benjamin K. Sovacool on the topic of Climate Change. I will now present my views with regards to Dr. Benjamin’s enlightening presentation on the institutional and individual response to climate change issues.
Dr. Benjamin started off by giving a brief overview on the problems faced during climatic changes. The main constituent of the greenhouse gases, which is one of the key factors leading to the change in climate, is the emission of carbon dioxide gases, also famously known as CO2. Studies show that there is a significant increase in the emissions of CO2 since the early 1900s by many countries around the world. The emissions of CO2 are generally closely connected to the capita of the countries; the countries with the higher income average contribute a considerably large amount of CO2 as compared to the countries with the lower income average.
To assist in sustaining, stabilizing or if possible, reducing the amount of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, Dr. Benjamin proposes 2 levels of actions which can be implemented – institutional and individual.
For institutional actions to achieve climate stabilization, they are divided into 6 sectors which are [1] energy supply, [2] transport, [3] buildings, [4] industry, [5] agriculture and forestry, and lastly [6] waste management. A variety of examples are given for the different sectors stated above so as to increase our awareness on how the different sectors can carry out the actions to achieve climate stabilization. There are few examples which caught my attention; one of which is the fact that some countries limit the number of driving days for its people, just to reduce its CO2 emissions from its vehicles. Not to forget, the extended producer responsibility for waste management in some companies such as NOKIA, which manages the disposal of its mobile phones as well, as quoted by Dr. Benjamin.
For individual actions, Dr. Benjamin divides them into 4 sections which are [1] sustainable electricity, [2] sustainable food, [3] sustainable homes, and [4] sustainable technology. The suggestions he brought up are mainly on individuals changing their normal routines and habits, from a simple action such as unplugging unused appliances, to a more complicated action of changing food habits.
Although some would believe that the institutional actions would show a more significant impact to the cause, it actually boils down to the individual itself. If every single individual contributes their part in stabilizing the climate, it would make a vast amount of difference as a whole.
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I was not aware of the drastic changes that are happening to our precious planet. The planet, Earth, is getting warmer every year and it is not good for humans, animals and even plantation. We, as a resident in this planet, need to open our arms and lend a helping hand in saving the planet.
ReplyDeleteAfter going through a lecture with Dr. Benjamin Sovacool, I have learnt that our local government can help the planet by enforcing policies and measures in many areas. The two main sectors that I will discuss are energy supply and transport sector.
Every country in this world needs electricity to power her population so that they can live a civilised life. With energy consumption in increasing, more fossil fuel will be burned to cater for that demand. Government can reduce the dependency of fossil fuels by introducing feed-in tariffs for renewable energy technology. Government can also reduce the fossil fuel subsidies for their own people so that they will not use the electricity unnecessarily.
The next main sector that contributes to the climate change is transportation. High urban density countries like Singapore, has more vehicles per kilometre square which result in high carbon emission per kilometre square. Local government can increase taxes and fees on vehicle purchase, registration, roads and parking pricing to discourage people from buying vehicle. Government can also start an investment in attractive public transport facilities so that the locals will be motivated to take the public transport for the daily journey.
Energy supply and transport are the two main sectors that contribute to the world’s climate changes as they have high dependency on fossil fuels. Till we find more renewable, efficient and clean energy sources, we can help the planet by reducing our monthly consumption of electricity and use public transport if we need to travel.