A New Year, A New Environment
Sarah Yim
January 20th, 2021
January 20th, 2021
Pulling through a difficult year of a global pandemic, wildfires, and many more, a new year finally awaits us. Hopefully, a better year—a year where we can return the happiness and freedom to ourselves. To do so, however, we must tackle two primary problems—the global pandemic, of course, and the exacerbating conditions of our climate. Although it is still unpredictable how things will turn out regarding the global pandemic that has affected millions already, ample evidence demonstrates a light of hope in tackling climate change. 2021 could possibly be a turning point for tackling environmental issues.
Some of the world’s economically-largest countries have presented unexpected solutions and actions they plan to take against climate change. In particular, China, the world’s top-polluting nation and one of the most relevant countries concerning climate change, has surprised many with an important announcement at the UN General Assembly back in September of 2020. China’s president Xi Jin Ping announced that China would work to speed up reductions in carbon emissions, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060. Today, China is responsible for approximately 28% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, so such commitment made by China carries great potential to drastically cut emissions, improving air quality in turn. “Xi Jinping's climate pledge at the UN, minutes after President Donald Trump's speech, is clearly a bold and well calculated move, [demonstrating] Xi's consistent interest in leveraging the climate agenda for geopolitical purposes,” said Li Shuo, an expert on Chinese climate policy from Greenpeace Asia.
A similarity among several countries recently is that they have set up plans to go net-zero. The reason for this is because renewable energy is available at the cheapest prices today. In October 2020, the International Energy Agency concluded that the best solar power schemes now offer “the cheapest source of electricity in history.” Renewables are a great alternative to fossil fuels that release extensive amounts of carbon dioxide and toxins when burnt, causing severe air and water pollution. Moreover, estimates show that the price gap between fossil fuels and renewables will grow in future years because renewable energy technologies follow learning curves, meaning the more renewable resources are produced, the cheaper the price would become. As a result, coal-fired power stations will mostly likely be replaced and shut down in the long run, emitting much less harmful toxins into the air.
Then, what does this mean for countries’ governments and businesses? This means they will, too, follow the environmental trend. Governments would take the renewable-energy approach, knowing that producing more renewables in their own economies would decrease the prices further down. Businesses would also take the same approach, as they would be able to purchase sources of electricity at a cheaper price than they had before. Recently, companies such as Tesla, an electric car company that operates using 100% renewable energy, have displayed the progress of this environmental trend. Last Wednesday on January 6th, Tesla’s stock prices skyrocketed, as more people were willing to invest and subsidize companies utilizing green energy.
Surely, there are increasing improvements, efforts, and dedication to combat climate change, sparking light into preserving our planet’s healthy environment for future generations. However, it is critical that we keep up the progress and commitments we have each made to tackle climate change—that is the one and only solution to protect our Earth.
Some of the world’s economically-largest countries have presented unexpected solutions and actions they plan to take against climate change. In particular, China, the world’s top-polluting nation and one of the most relevant countries concerning climate change, has surprised many with an important announcement at the UN General Assembly back in September of 2020. China’s president Xi Jin Ping announced that China would work to speed up reductions in carbon emissions, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060. Today, China is responsible for approximately 28% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, so such commitment made by China carries great potential to drastically cut emissions, improving air quality in turn. “Xi Jinping's climate pledge at the UN, minutes after President Donald Trump's speech, is clearly a bold and well calculated move, [demonstrating] Xi's consistent interest in leveraging the climate agenda for geopolitical purposes,” said Li Shuo, an expert on Chinese climate policy from Greenpeace Asia.
A similarity among several countries recently is that they have set up plans to go net-zero. The reason for this is because renewable energy is available at the cheapest prices today. In October 2020, the International Energy Agency concluded that the best solar power schemes now offer “the cheapest source of electricity in history.” Renewables are a great alternative to fossil fuels that release extensive amounts of carbon dioxide and toxins when burnt, causing severe air and water pollution. Moreover, estimates show that the price gap between fossil fuels and renewables will grow in future years because renewable energy technologies follow learning curves, meaning the more renewable resources are produced, the cheaper the price would become. As a result, coal-fired power stations will mostly likely be replaced and shut down in the long run, emitting much less harmful toxins into the air.
Then, what does this mean for countries’ governments and businesses? This means they will, too, follow the environmental trend. Governments would take the renewable-energy approach, knowing that producing more renewables in their own economies would decrease the prices further down. Businesses would also take the same approach, as they would be able to purchase sources of electricity at a cheaper price than they had before. Recently, companies such as Tesla, an electric car company that operates using 100% renewable energy, have displayed the progress of this environmental trend. Last Wednesday on January 6th, Tesla’s stock prices skyrocketed, as more people were willing to invest and subsidize companies utilizing green energy.
Surely, there are increasing improvements, efforts, and dedication to combat climate change, sparking light into preserving our planet’s healthy environment for future generations. However, it is critical that we keep up the progress and commitments we have each made to tackle climate change—that is the one and only solution to protect our Earth.
