The need to transcend carbon tunnel vision

Climate change is one of the leading global problems of our age. Last year was the world’s hottest year on record by a substantial margin and likely the world’s warmest in the last 100,000 years.

By now, it is well known that climate change is driven by greenhouse gas emissions, making multi-country decarbonization efforts particularly urgent.

However, we also need to make sure we do not fall prey to “carbon tunnel vision” – that is, focusing only on emissions while ignoring other interrelated problems that contribute to climate change.

For example, we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, primarily caused by human activity. Current species extinction rates are occurring between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate.

In addition, biodiversity loss threatens up to one million species as well as irreplaceable ecosystems. As ecosystems break down, it affects the Earth’s ability to self-regulate and disrupts natural carbon cycles in land and sea which further exacerbates climate change.

Another interrelated issue is chronic overconsumption, which is increasing at an alarming rate, particularly in high-income countries. In fact, resources are being depleted at a rate that is exceeding planetary boundaries.

Not only is overconsumption a key driver of the climate crisis, but as resources become more scarce, it impedes our ability to roll out certain climate solutions.

For example, the multitudes of devices and appliances we use and replace every few years use up similar rare earth metals that are required for solar panels, wind farms, and electric vehicles.

Fortunately, many of these challenges can be solved in tandem. Yet, in order to do so effectively, two elements are needed: political