The 50 shades of Green

The recent years, it appears that the eco-friendly declarations have grown exponentially, shifting from the inner ecological cycle of environmental scientists, activists, organizations and political ecology parties that once seemed to have, if not a monopoly, then certainly the main initiative.

Where during 70s and 80s there was suspicion and distance from ecological declarations, there is now a fierce competition for the most environmentally friendly statements and announcements of measures against climate change and crisis, against air and water pollution, and in favour of the use of renewable energy sources, organic crops, etc. How sincere is all this and how much does it ultimately translate into concrete actions in the real world? Can we distinguish which shades of green are authentic and which are made for promotional reasons or the "hypocrisy" of world's richest people, who from the one hand they promote their eco-friendly products and policies and from the other, they invest their wealth for the research and development of their "Space Exploration and Tourism" projects emitting at the same time millions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere?

Currently, we experience first hand the climate change-related phenomena such as the record temperatures the North Hemisphere in North America and Siberia and also around the Mediterranean sea, and the subsequent wildfires in Mediterranean Sea, the US West Coast, Siberia and in Australia - that takes no other pretexts of ignorance or disguise.

The recent deadly sudden downpours and floods in Western Europe but also in China and India, as a result of climate change have revived the debate on how to deal with the phenomenon as it is a harbinger of what will follow with extreme weather events.

Even the coronavirus pandemic and previous epidemics of animal origin have made clear the negative effects of trespassing on the boundaries between human activity and nature. So far it is understandable why there is a general recognition and mobilization - on the scale of green everyone has climbed a step and above under the pressure of indisputable reality.

The different approaches, however, continue to exist and it becomes clear if one takes a closer look at the measures adopted. From the Paris Agreement aka United Nations' conference for the climate change and the European Green Agreement and the "Fit for 5" package recently presented by the European Commission to the measures promoted by world richest entrepreneurs and their global organizations such as Amazon's ex CEO Jeff Bezos and his Climate Pledge, and the measures proposed by environmental organizations such as GreenPeace, we see similarities and differences that deserve our attention. The common intention to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, in order to slow down climate change by intervening in its anthropogenic sources, is very positive. Most importantly, it recognizes the need to strengthen the social groups that are expected to be affected by the transition to a zero-carbon economy by devoting resources to a "fair transition".

The current official announcements, however, fall far short of what needs to be done in order for the necessary change of financial and organizational model as well as mentality to take shape. It is clear that the trend of increasing the financial indicators and profits of large companies continues unabated.
It simply replaces the construction of coal-fired power plants with giant wind turbines mounted on every coast and every mountain top, paving roads and levelling areas even in protected areas of natural beauty and rich biodiversity, even above the wind energy rate.

Moreover, the local communities are not favoured, which would enable the inhabitants of the areas to cooperate and become energy self-sufficient, or to have income from the production of energy that exceeds their needs, by combining different sources of renewable energy according to its particularities. each region, thus combating energy poverty. No adaptation projects are being promoted to local communities, probably because flood defences do not have the large budgets required by large companies. And of course the difficult discussion about the creation of green islands in the cities does not begin, in order to reduce the temperatures to tolerable limits in the summer, even with the expropriation and demolition of abandoned buildings and facilities, especially in metropolitan areas.

From the other hand, Charles Dumas, an economist and head of UK-based research and investment firm TS Lombard, says climate action is often criticized for being slow. Currently Governments are increasing their spending to help their economy because of the coronavirus plagues, and the next step, he says, is to do the same with ways to tackle climate change.
As he notes the cost of electricity per megawatt hour, it can be reduced with solar and wind energy over the next ten years as it is observed that the levels of carbon dioxide are unchanged for years.

In fact, many of the announced corporate measures are marketing promotional campaigns covered with a with a green coating. This may create a temporary increase in business and construction activity, but not much will change in the long run. It will of course be important to have a transition to renewable energy sources. But without systematic planning to reduce demand through better performance of buildings and appliances and the promotion of good practices in our lives and travels, the coveted fossil fuel emissions and carbon footprint zero will not be achieved by 2050.

References

Disclaimer: All information found on this article is for informational purposes only. I do not provide any personal investment advice so please make your own research before proceeding to any investment/trading action.

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