Act now

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy has many challenges. There are serious challenges around commercial, technological, political or behavioural issues. However, nothing suggests that it can’t be done. And it is easier and cheaper than adapting to a much hotter planet.

Some of the challenges relate to technology and markets. For instance, if we had lots of electric vehicles but continued to make most of our electricity from coal, how does that help?

Is the cost of renewables, of storage or of carbon capture, not still too high? How do we deal with the intermittency of wind and solar power? How much fluctuation can our grids handle? What are the risks of geo-engineering?

Tough challenges Other challenges revolve around our behaviour: why is there such a striking disconnect between many people’s values and our everyday behaviour when it comes to carbon emissions? Do we really fly less, eat less meat, or use public transport more often, just to reduce global warming?

Do we even bother to exchange our light bulbs, insulate our windows or make informed purchasing decisions about everyday products? We might be disheartened, when we consider, if our individual contribution can make any difference to a problem of such vast proportions.

And don’t many of us still see climate change as a far-away and abstract phenomenon, almost too complex to grasp and too disturbing to ponder?

Or the questions might relate to politics and economics: will politicians (and their voters) ever agree on relevant global emissions cuts and on national carbon budgets?

Are we doomed to live out the “tragedy of the commons” because we are simply not made to cooperate with one another?

Don’t we just love the comforts of procrastination? And what about poor countries’ rights to cheap energy for development? If they go on a low-carbon growth plan, will their development be stymied (I don’t think so)? And who would pay for this?

There are many more questions about our ability to create a global, low-carbon economy — and that is not surprising, since it would require remodelling our way of life significantly and at a global scale, something humanity has never consciously done before. Yet, it is a fact of our time that we have to tackle climate change.

So this is our choice: Act now to solve very tough problems or react (not much) later to tackle much tougher problems in a radically less comfortable environment.

We can do more It’s not like we can’t solve big, complex problems. Our age is more dynamic and technology-enabled than any before. We can do more than ever before — for better or worse.

Also, we have demonstrated that we can achieve goals that might seem unrealistic. Just think of the mission to the moon. Or think of our success in almost eradicating global diseases such as polio or smallpox. In terms of the environment, we have also achieved a lot: Regionally, water bodies and the air has been cleaned up in many locations.

Globally, the Montreal Protocol, limiting the use of substances that deplete the earth’s ozone layer, is an example of successful international regulatory cooperation.

Yes, it’s not easy to change to a low-carbon economy. The good news is that there are no known logical or physical barriers to transitioning to a low-carbon economy. It is merely a question of will and ingenuity.

The writer is director and founder of Bridge to India, a solar energy consultancy

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