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Global warning: everything you wanted to know about climate change – live Global warning: everything you wanted to know about climate change – live
(35 minutes later)
1.44pm GMT
13:44
On Twitter, ‏@FourTwoThreeOne asks:
@dpcarrington Hi Damian, how bad (& how soon) will climate change Australia? A country which already has wild weather and long droughts.
Right here, right now is the answer. Scorching heatwaves are already five times more likely thanks to global warming and it’s not going to get better until carbon emissions start to fall. You can read more here.
1.40pm GMT
13:40
Damian Carrington
MercuryBen asks a political question.
Why is it that climate change scepticism is so popular with those on the right-wing?
I’d suggest two reasons. First is that tackling global warming requires communal action, which for those libertarians far to the right looks just like communism. Communism is evil, therefore climate change can’t exist.
The second reason is that the fossil fuel lobby gives far more money to rightwing politicians, as they are seen to be more “pro-business” than those on the left.
But as the Tory politician John Gummer, now Lord Deben, argues today: “Conservatives cannot properly be climate deniers. At the heart of their political stance is a desire to hand on something better to the future than they have received from the past.”
1.34pm GMT
13:34
Damian Carrington
ID5865653 asks an important question about whether aviation can be made greener.
Does anyone know what, if any, progress is being made on making flights more carbon neutral? I know there was a successful round-the-world solar flight in 2016, but that doesn’t seem likely to bear fruit commercially any time time soon. Are the fuel requirements just too large for electric planes etc to be practical?
Flying does have a heavy carbon footprint – about 1 tonne for every economy passenger from London to New York and back. But I don’t think electric planes – like Solar Impulse – will ever carry many passengers. Batteries are just too heavy and solar panels need too much area.
More likely is the adoption of a sustainable biofuel for jets, perhaps from algae, jatropha or even tobacco. But progress has been slow. For freight at least, air ships are a possible future alternative. For now, using a good carbon offset scheme is the only solution.
1.28pm GMT
13:28
Damian Carrington
The livestock industry causes about 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and CordTrousers asks:
Any suggestions other than vegetarianism?
Meat does have a heavy carbon (and methane) footprint, but not all meat is equal. Beef has by far the biggest footprint, so cutting out that alone makes a big difference. Reducing meat consumption, rather than going vegetarian, is also an option backed by many, dubbed climatarian or reducatarian.
As it happens, lots of people in rich nations eat more meat than is healthy, so cutting back would help lengthen many lives. Also, lots of new companies are starting to produce vegetable-based substitutes for meat and dairy products, aiming to make them as tasty, healthy and affordable as the originals.
1.23pm GMT
13:23
Damian Carrington
PeppermintSeal wants to know what the impact of ocean acidification might be. Much of the world’s CO2 emissions end up being absorbed by the oceans, which become more acidic as a result.
Regarding the increased acidity in the oceans, what follows from this? More coastal erosion and threat to sea life I’m guessing, but are there other things happening? Does acidity affect salt levels?
Ocean acidification is real but research is still ongoing. This is from a UK research programme: “Already ocean pH has decreased by about 30% and if we continue emitting CO2 at the same rate by 2100 ocean acidity will increase by about 150%, a rate that has not been experienced for at least 400,000 years. Such a monumental alteration in basic ocean chemistry is likely to have wide implications for ocean life, especially for those organisms that require calcium carbonate to build shells or skeletons.”
I think acidification is unlikely to affect salinity or coastal erosion. But rising sea levels and fiercer storms will affect coastlines.
Updated
at 1.39pm GMT
1.20pm GMT
13:20
Damian Carrington
Lots of commenters, for example greensocialist147, are arguing that overpopulation is the fundamental problem.
The world’s population is set to rise to 9 or 10 billion by 2050, which definitely makes beating climate change tougher. But the critical thing is the size of their carbon footprints.
If they all cause the same emissions as today’s Americans or Australians, we are doomed to catastrophic climate change. But if, as is difficult but possible, emissions from energy, transport and buildings are reduced to very low levels, then a large global population can live sustainably on the planet. In terms of curbing population growth, poverty reduction, education for girls and availability of contraception for those who want it are vital.
1.17pm GMT
13:17
Damian Carrington
Crucial question next from yourcomment.
Is it compulsory for every article on global warming to feature a photo of a polar bear? Why?
Well, no. But they are beautiful animals and the Arctic is warming far faster than the rest of the planet. But the research here suggests, among many things, that images of real people are effective ways to communicate the significance of climate change, too.
1.15pm GMT
13:15
Damian Carrington
Reader rokealy wants to know how climate change will affect the UK and Europe.
This is such an important matter and delighted that you are covering this in such an excellent way. Really educational yet at the same time quite unsettling. With the rise in temperatures, and various reports coming to conclusions that Europe will get warmer or colder, can you give a clearer picture of what we (Ireland, UK, Europe) can expect to see in our climate in the near future?
The short answer is: more extremes. With more heat in the atmosphere, there’s more energy to drive more extreme events, such as storms. In the UK, the main consequences are more severe flooding and more deadly heatwaves, which the government’s official advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, say are high risks already. Summers are likely to get drier and hotter overall and winters warmer and wetter. But there will also be extreme cold snaps, probably driven by the fast-melting ice in the Arctic.
1.09pm GMT1.09pm GMT
13:0913:09
Damian CarringtonDamian Carrington
Next up is a question from Clare Rudkin, on whether global warming can be blamed for specific events.Next up is a question from Clare Rudkin, on whether global warming can be blamed for specific events.
I would like to know the percent of increase in likelihood of events that seem to be linked to climate change.I would like to know the percent of increase in likelihood of events that seem to be linked to climate change.
Weather has a lot of natural variability, but climate changes increases the chances of many types of extreme weather – loading the dice, if you like. Scientists are getting better and faster at calculating how much the probability of heatwaves etc occurring are increased by global warming.Weather has a lot of natural variability, but climate changes increases the chances of many types of extreme weather – loading the dice, if you like. Scientists are getting better and faster at calculating how much the probability of heatwaves etc occurring are increased by global warming.
In some cases, it’s a lot. Warm sea temperatures linked to severe bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef were made at least 175 times more likely, the extreme Russian heatwave of 2010 was made three times more likely, major floods in Paris in 2016, were made almost twice as likely. In some cases, it’s a lot. Warm sea temperatures linked to severe bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef were made at least 175 times more likely, the extreme Russian heatwave of 2010 was made three times more likely, major floods in Paris in 2016 were made almost twice as likely.
Updated
at 1.10pm GMT
1.03pm GMT1.03pm GMT
13:0313:03
Damian CarringtonDamian Carrington
Hi! I’m Damian Carrington, head of environment at the Guardian, and I’ll be tackling your climate questions for the next 45 minutes or so. Please post anything you’d like to ask in the comments below or tweet me @dpcarrington.Hi! I’m Damian Carrington, head of environment at the Guardian, and I’ll be tackling your climate questions for the next 45 minutes or so. Please post anything you’d like to ask in the comments below or tweet me @dpcarrington.
Here’s the first one, from Sandie Elsom.Here’s the first one, from Sandie Elsom.
Congratulations on deciding to focus on this most important of all issues. I’d like to see clear explanations of what the science is saying and just how serious the outcomes will be. I have difficulty convincing family members that climate change is a clear and present danger.Congratulations on deciding to focus on this most important of all issues. I’d like to see clear explanations of what the science is saying and just how serious the outcomes will be. I have difficulty convincing family members that climate change is a clear and present danger.
These webpages by Nasa are very good: clear and striking. You could also take a look at the assessment of the world’s scientists produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It concludes that global warming is set to inflict “severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts” on people and the natural world unless carbon emissions are cut sharply and rapidly.These webpages by Nasa are very good: clear and striking. You could also take a look at the assessment of the world’s scientists produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It concludes that global warming is set to inflict “severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts” on people and the natural world unless carbon emissions are cut sharply and rapidly.
The assessment involved thousands of scientists – probably the biggest scientific review in human history – and was approved by 196 nations, making it as definitive as it gets.The assessment involved thousands of scientists – probably the biggest scientific review in human history – and was approved by 196 nations, making it as definitive as it gets.
12.56pm GMT12.56pm GMT
12:5612:56
HOUR SIX: Saviour tech HOUR SIX: saviour tech
Mark Rice-OxleyMark Rice-Oxley
Journalism often tends to focus on the problems, and as such can often give a glum view of the world. But during this hour we’ve heard from:Journalism often tends to focus on the problems, and as such can often give a glum view of the world. But during this hour we’ve heard from:
The Egyptian hydroponics farmer trying to beat the droughtThe Egyptian hydroponics farmer trying to beat the drought
the team at the Thames Barrier in London, the kind of tech that might be needed elsewhere in the worldthe team at the Thames Barrier in London, the kind of tech that might be needed elsewhere in the world
the British Antarctic Survey, keeping tabs on climate change at the bottom of the earththe British Antarctic Survey, keeping tabs on climate change at the bottom of the earth
some of the innovators offering 21st-century ideas to fix a 21st-century problemsome of the innovators offering 21st-century ideas to fix a 21st-century problem
Soon we’re going to hand over to Damian Carrington, our head of environment, to answer your questions. But before we go, can I make a personal plea for you to consider joining us as a member? Journalism is a costly business, as I’m sure you can appreciate from the work that has gone into this product. But we do it because we believe things like this can make a difference, can help build the movement to roll back climate change. If everyone reading this blog gave just a small amount, we would be on a far firmer footing to keep producing work like this.Soon we’re going to hand over to Damian Carrington, our head of environment, to answer your questions. But before we go, can I make a personal plea for you to consider joining us as a member? Journalism is a costly business, as I’m sure you can appreciate from the work that has gone into this product. But we do it because we believe things like this can make a difference, can help build the movement to roll back climate change. If everyone reading this blog gave just a small amount, we would be on a far firmer footing to keep producing work like this.
Support us with a monthly payment or a one-off contribution. Many thanks everyone. Here’s the hourly Twitter card:Support us with a monthly payment or a one-off contribution. Many thanks everyone. Here’s the hourly Twitter card:
Updated
at 1.40pm GMT
12.55pm GMT12.55pm GMT
12:5512:55
Damian CarringtonDamian Carrington
When it comes to green tech, the electricity sector has seen the biggest focus so far, with the cost of solar, wind, LED lighting and batteries plummeting in the last decade. The cost of conventional nuclear power has not, but so-called “small modular reactors” (SMR) are now attracting a lot of attention: smaller, cheaper and mass produced is the promise.When it comes to green tech, the electricity sector has seen the biggest focus so far, with the cost of solar, wind, LED lighting and batteries plummeting in the last decade. The cost of conventional nuclear power has not, but so-called “small modular reactors” (SMR) are now attracting a lot of attention: smaller, cheaper and mass produced is the promise.
An SMR design was recently submitted to regulators in the US, but Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, is not holding his breath. “I do laugh when people talk about SMRs being five years around the corner. The licensing conditions for nuclear – quite correctly – imply a very slow development process because you can’t mess around with it.”An SMR design was recently submitted to regulators in the US, but Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, is not holding his breath. “I do laugh when people talk about SMRs being five years around the corner. The licensing conditions for nuclear – quite correctly – imply a very slow development process because you can’t mess around with it.”
The great hope for nuclear for decades has been nuclear fusion, which carries the prospect of cleaner and limitless energy. However, even those building the biggest fusion experiment in the world – ITER in France – acknowledge that commercial nuclear fusion will not come before 2050, by which time global emissions will already have to be near zero.The great hope for nuclear for decades has been nuclear fusion, which carries the prospect of cleaner and limitless energy. However, even those building the biggest fusion experiment in the world – ITER in France – acknowledge that commercial nuclear fusion will not come before 2050, by which time global emissions will already have to be near zero.
Much faster to deliver will be smart grids, which apply data and communication software to make far more efficient use of existing electricity, creating in effect “virtual power stations”. These, along with storage of intermittent renewable energy, are the most important technologies, say experts, allowing countries to move to 100% renewable energy on the grid. Big batteries are already replacing power plants in California.Much faster to deliver will be smart grids, which apply data and communication software to make far more efficient use of existing electricity, creating in effect “virtual power stations”. These, along with storage of intermittent renewable energy, are the most important technologies, say experts, allowing countries to move to 100% renewable energy on the grid. Big batteries are already replacing power plants in California.
A breakthrough in battery chemistry to deliver cheaper, more powerful devices is being sought around the world but they are not the only way to store energy – a plant in the UK is already using air compressed into a liquid.A breakthrough in battery chemistry to deliver cheaper, more powerful devices is being sought around the world but they are not the only way to store energy – a plant in the UK is already using air compressed into a liquid.
New renewable technologies are also being investigated. Researchers are seeking breakthroughs in solar energy, a truly global energy source, aiming to make panels that capture even more of the sun by, for example, using perovskite crystals instead of silicon.New renewable technologies are also being investigated. Researchers are seeking breakthroughs in solar energy, a truly global energy source, aiming to make panels that capture even more of the sun by, for example, using perovskite crystals instead of silicon.
UpdatedUpdated
at 12.57pm GMTat 12.57pm GMT
12.43pm GMT
12:43
Damian Carrington
I’ve been looking at all kinds of technology that promises to help us battle climate change in the decades to come.
Of course, renewables have been a quiet success story over the past 20 years – but this is only half the picture. From solar air ships to lab-grown meat, algae jet fuel to nuclear fusion, technology innovations around the world hold the hope of slashing carbon emissions and giving a big boost to the battle against global warming.
Mission Innovation, a collaboration involving 50 of the world’s biggest nations, is set to invest $30bn a year by 2020 on clean technology, and the UK’s special representative for climate change, Sir David King, played a leading role in its creation. One of his favourites is a huge new airship being developed by a British company, VariaLift, to provide low-carbon freight transport.
The plan is to cover the airships with photovoltaics, then rise them to 50,000 feet where there is very little air resistance. Solar energy can then power the electrical engines and the airship could reach speeds of 340km/h.
Also attracting attention is a German idea to store energy in regions without mountains, where pumped-water storage cannot be used. Heindl Energy’s solution is to raise a giant column of rock using the pumped water, which is then allowed to fall again when the energy is needed.
The allure of new technology is strong, not only to speed up cuts in emissions, but also because of the colossal market it represents, offering good jobs and economic growth. The International Energy Agency estimates that $44tn will be invested in energy by 2040, with an ever bigger slice going to clean technologies.
Updated
at 12.44pm GMT
12.31pm GMT
12:31
Mark Rice-Oxley
Of course, science is a vital part of our understanding of climate change, and down at the bottom of the earth, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are conducting a range of experiments and observations to keep tabs on any changes in conditions.
The BAS collaborated with us to get exclusive video back from the Antarctic, and my colleague Irene Baqué put together this short package to show what’s going on.
12.24pm GMT
12:24
Adam Vaughan
While flood defences are often criticised and the government is regularly accused of failing to account sufficiently for how much climate change is making it worse, the UK’s Thames barrier has been a real, unsung success story. Built in eight years, its six gates have never failed to protect London.
In the early hours of last Saturday morning, Steve East made a judgment call to protect Londoners from the Thames. Faced with tidal and weather forecasts and other data, the engineering manager of the Thames Barrier decided to raise it for the second occasion in 2017 and the 178th time since it was finished in 1982.
The result was a 3.3 metre differential – the height of the water level on the downstream side, which leads out to the North Sea, above the upstream side of central and west London, which the huge structure protects.
“It’s an art, not a science because we are making decisions on forecasts,” he tells me, as we overlook the barrier where the rotating gates are raised in times of need. East started working as an administrator at the barrier 31 years ago. Over that he time, he’s not seen a linear line showing the barrier being closed more frequently, but a more jagged line with spikes in individual years.
For example, in one recent year the barrier was closed on 50 occasions in just a three month period. Before that it had gone about two years without a closure. “It’s an easy decision to close it. The hard decision is not to close it,” he says. While closure protects Londoners and property from flooding, it also stops river traffic, wildlife such as seals, and puts a “strain on the asset”, as East puts it, wearing the barrier out.
The barrier should last until about 2070. Climate change means a 20-90cm sea level rise in the Thames by 2100, according to the Met Office and Defra, and East is clear: “There’s an acknowledgment that sea level rise will require a new barrier.”
Planning is just beginning on what location and size that barrier might take, but the project is anticipated to cost £10bn. Some of that money will go on raising and strengthening the tidal walls downstream of the barrier, and making space for water downstream to overflow into during tidal surges, such as car parks and playgrounds.
East thinks that when the barrier starts having 50 closures a year regularly – at the moment the average is four annually – that’s when a new barrier will be needed. But for now – even with the two closures in less than a month this year – “we’re a long way from that”.
Updated
at 12.27pm GMT
12.14pm GMT
12:14
Ruth Michaelson
Across the Middle East and north Africa, global warming means record temperatures, which in the summer can make life unbearable from Tehran to Tripoli.
The knock-on impact on farming in the region has been severe – indeed some people have even blamed the Arab spring partly on the way climate change has depleted agriculture.
But some enterprising farmers are finding ways to beat the drought, like this Egyptian extolling the virtues of hydroponic farming – that uses more than 95% less water by not planting in soil.
Updated
at 12.19pm GMT
12.04pm GMT
12:04
Emily Wilson
A final three tips on positive individual action here from Chris Goodall:
• For a decade, investors ignored the movement that advocated the divestment of holdings in fossil fuel companies. Large fuel companies and electricity generation businesses were able to raise the many billions of new finance they needed. Now, by contrast, money managers are increasingly wary of backing the investment plans of oil companies and switching to renewable projects. And universities and activist investors around the world are selling their holdings in fossil fuels, making it more difficult for these companies to raise new money. Vocal support for those backing out of oil, gas and coal helps keep up the pressure.
• Politicians tend to do what their electorates want. The last major UK government survey showed that 82% of people supported the use of solar power, with only 4% opposed. A similar survey in the US showed an even larger percentage in favour. The levels of support for onshore wind aren’t much lower, either in the US or the UK. We need to actively communicate these high levels of approval to our representatives and point out that fossil fuel use is far less politically popular.
• Buy gas and electricity from retailers who sell renewable power. This helps grow their businesses and improves their ability to provide cost-competitive fuels to us. Renewable natural gas is just coming on to the market in reasonable quantities in many countries and fossil-free electricity is widely available. Think about switching to a supplier that is working to provide 100% clean energy.
Chris’s 15 things you can do to help stop manmade climate change is published in full here.
Updated
at 12.06pm GMT
12.00pm GMT
12:00
HOUR FIVE: reasons to be (cautiously) cheerful
Mark Rice-Oxley
Have we really been going five hours? We’re just getting warmed up. No pun intended. If you’re waking up in America, stay tuned: our New York office will be taking over this running article in a couple of hours, with the focus switching to the inauguration tomorrow.
In the past hour, we’ve really only had time to skim the surface of some of the good things going on in this time zone:
the Afghan hero trying to reforest an entire province
the Israelis who turn salt water into drinkable stuff – and export the technology around the world
the Swedes building a carbon sink in Stockholm
Please do post your questions for our head of environment, Damian Carrington, to answer, or you can email him on damian.carrington@theguardian.com. He’ll be with us at 1pm GMT.
And here’s another fact for you:
Right then. We’ve not nearly finished with good news so we’re going to carry on past the hour with more inspiring people and technology, starting with the Egyptian farmer beating the drought with smart water-saving kit.
Updated
at 12.02pm GMT
11.55am GMT
11:55
David Crouch
This month sees the launch in Stockholm of the world’s first urban carbon sink. The project will trap carbon from garden waste and store it in the ground, thereby compensating for the emissions of around 700 cars.
The idea is based on turning wood and other organic waste into “biochar”, produced like charcoal by heating it in the absence of oxygen. The first firings will make use of thousands of discarded Christmas trees.
In the shadow of a large conventional power station in the southern suburbs, the new carbon sink will produce 300 tonnes of biochar a year, which will then be used to fertilise the city’s parks and green spaces. In turn, heat generated during the process will be used to heat local apartments.
Simon Rea, of of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which is sponsoring the project, told me:
This is the world’s first urban carbon sink. We want other cities to be inspired by Stockholm and start their own biochar production.
Combatting “climate apathy” in this way is seen as an important aspect of the project, which wants to involve Stockholmers and make them feel that they themselves have a role to play in influencing the climate.
The project organisers say that three more cities and a US federal state have already shown an interest: Melbourne in Australia, Mysore in India, Parma in Italy, and the state of California.
Mattias Gustafsson of Stockholm Water, told me:
It is just the beginning. This natural carbon sink will not save the world but we must begin to pay off our carbon debts.
Updated
at 12.08pm GMT
11.48am GMT
11:48
Peter Beaumont
Israel has long experience of dealing with some of the pressing demands of climate change.
Inside the high pressure hall at the world’s largest water desalination plant on the Israeli coast near Rishon Lezion, a forest of pressure vessels is humming with the sound of sea water being made drinkable at the equivalent of 65 atmospheres.
The plant, completed just three years ago, is at the cutting edge of a desalination technology being exported around the world from China to India, to California and Australia, promising new sources of water in a warming world.
The success of the Sorek plant and others like it in Israel – built by Israel Desalination Engineering [IDE] – is a testament to recent leaps made in desalination technology.
One hundred years ago the British in Mandatory Palestine predicted that water would be an issue for a growing population, a challenge that has obsessed Israeli politicians over the decades.
Today, Israel is a net exporter of water and its desalination plants provide almost 65% of the country’s potable and industrial water.
Advances in reverse osmosis water purification technology have made it possible to build plants large and small, and increasingly environmentally friendly, allowing the production of drinkable water wherever there is access to the sea.
The process is fast and relatively cheap.
In the space of the Guardian’s visit to the plant, sea water extracted from the Mediterranean was cleaned once by being passed through large filtration tanks, cleaned a second time, then filtered in the high pressure hall before having traces of boron removed in a cascade and then treated to soften the water and make it drinkable.
Udi Tirosh, of IDE, told me:
There has long been an interest here in water recovery. Water shortages are a world issue. California has suffered six years of successive droughts. We are working on a new plant north of San Diego as well as a facility in Tienjiang south of Beijing in China which also has water shortage issues – a thermal extraction plant in this case. In India we are working on a plant for an industrial concern.
Updated
at 11.50am GMT
11.38am GMT
11:38
Emily Wilson
Terry Macalister, formerly the Guardian’s energy editor and now on the Cambridge Climate Lecture Series steering committee, has just sent this blog post in to us:
Terry writes:
Global carbon emissions could be cut by one third within 12 months if affluent westerners changed their way of life, according at least to one leading climate change scientist.
Kevin Anderson, professor of energy and climate change at the UK’s Manchester University, says a major reduction in personal air travel is a key starting point.
More than half of the Co2 pollution which causes global warming comes from the 10% best-off people on the planet, he argues.
“Let’s be clear about this. If the top 10 high emitters – people like you and me and others – if we reduce our carbon footprint just to the level of the average European it would be a one-third cut in global emissions.
“I genuinely think we could achieve it in one year but we would have to think that climate change is a very serious issue and that has big political implications.”
Anderson, who already avoids flying where he can, made his comments in the run up to a talk he will give on 9 March at Cambridge University.
This is part of a new town and gown initiative, the Cambridge Climate Lecture Series, designed to rekindle more debate on global warming.
Anderson is convinced that wealthy westerners must act decisively and radically to change their lifestyles.
“Those of us who are high emitters … need to rapidly curtail how often we fly. We should not be flying on any occasion business class or first class because that has far higher emissions. We need to find alternatives to flying.
“But in addition, we need to make sure that we are not living in larger houses and have many houses, and drive larger cars.
“Our high incomes allow us to have status in society and typically have larger carbon footprints. It is a real challenge for us in that position because we have to significantly change in the short-term our lives and find other ways of seeing value for hard work.”
Anderson plans to use his talk to explain what kind of personal, societal and corporate changes need to be made in Britain to meet the UK government’s commitment under the Paris climate change agreement.
Updated
at 11.52am GMT
11.30am GMT
11:30
Sune Engel Rasmussen
Afghanistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change – but some people are trying to make a difference.
An estimated 80% of Afghanistan’s natural resources have been destroyed over four decades of conflict, Ahmad Seyer, director of the Rural Green Environmental Organisation (RGEO) and one of the few Afghan charities working to mitigate the effects of climate change, has told me.
Seyer, a civil engineer by training, worked to protect the environment since the mid-1990s, during the Taliban regime, when he worked with international agencies. But it was not until three years ago that he really became aware of the problems associated with climate change. Since then, climate change has been an integral part of the environment awareness training his organisation provides to mosques and schools.
In most villages where I go, they actually understand. Climate change is visible to them now. There is not enough snow, and not enough rain.
RGEO works across 90 villages in Badakhshan in Afghanistan’s remote northeast to protect biodiversity. Only three percent of Afghanistan’s surface is covered by forests. Loggers and people in need of wood to burn during winter threaten what is left.
RGEO has reforested 200,000 trees to help absorb greenhouse gases and provide protection for communities during flash floods, which hit Badakhshan almost every year. Last year, following a 6.6 magnitude earthquake, a flood destroyed over 800 homes in the province.
However, while a more sustainable environment would help boost livelihoods in the long term, for many families, economic concerns, compounded by war and unemployment, are more immediate.
Farmers have had to sell livestock to survive. Many migrate to Iran to work as day labourers, and some choose to join the insurgency, Seyer said.
“Compared to previous years, people have become so poor,” he said.
In 2015, RGEO received the UN’s Equator Prize, which has helped boost funding for his organisation. It now runs on about $100,000 over the next couple of years, about half of which is provided by the United Nations Development Program.
Faced with the task of convincing fellow Afghans, living in dire conditions, to care about the environment, Seyer said he was dismayed to see the incoming American president scoff at climate change.
“This is not a joke. Please fight against climate change,” he said, addressing Donald Trump. “NGOs can’t do this alone. Hundreds of people can’t do it; thousands of people can’t do it. Everybody needs to come together.”
Updated
at 11.36am GMT