California Governor Jerry Brown calls on the entire planet to face the threat of climate change together — far closer and more real than people think.
"Climate change is not just a problem — it is an existential threat that will hit us sooner than expected." With these words Jerry Brown, Governor of California, opened his address in the chamber of the European Parliament at the high-level conference on "Clean energy financing".
It is now widely known that the climate is changing, affecting different parts of the planet at different rates. In the Arctic Circle changes are far more rapid, with devastating effects that reverberate across the entire globe. According to Brown, human impact is not only destroying the environment, but is also exacerbating the differences between developed and developing populations, between north and south, between east and west. "The threat of climate change is equivalent to the threat of a catastrophic war, and to confront it countries must put all the economic and political resources at their disposal on the table if they want to win."
In recent years, California has charted an important course: today 27 per cent of electricity is produced from zero-emission renewable sources, and if hydroelectric and nuclear are added, the share of electricity generated at zero emissions reaches 50 per cent. The goal is to move from 27 per cent to 50 per cent by 2030, although some cities — such as San Diego — can already boast that 50 per cent of their electricity consumption is covered by renewable energy production.
California's winning formula has been to establish a clear and stable regulatory framework, within which energy companies have been able to sign twenty-year supply contracts for energy produced from renewable sources. The long-term security of those contracts has allowed companies to invest in the construction of renewable energy plants.
Substantial energy efficiency development plans have also been put in place, and thanks to the introduction of a series of standards on buildings and household appliances, California now has the most efficient and high-performing buildings in the entire United States.
Climate change, according to California's governor, is an existential threat with impacts on politics, health, the environment and social structures. Combating it requires not only investment to manage decarbonisation, but above all the creation of a global awareness of the problem. "All of us must do more to fight climate change. The threat can only be addressed if there is global collaboration, and only through a change of vision will it be possible to transition from the current energy model to a zero-emission system before 2050. Inertia and indifference are destroying us." In Brown's view, the world must commit immediately to reducing CO2 emissions — today temperatures are already above 1.5°C relative to 1990 levels — and the formula for doing so is to adopt a bottom-up approach in parallel with a top-down approach. Only by working from both sides (political and social) will there be any hope of achieving our goal.
To tackle climate change effectively, it is essential to have access to precise and accurate data. This will make it possible to determine whether the 2°C target is sufficient. "We cannot take for granted that the target set by the Paris Agreement is correct. Today there are studies that outline different scenarios — more pessimistic ones, with devastating effects in the short to medium term — and we must take them into account. The collection and analysis of data by all countries will be fundamental for understanding future scenarios and charting the course of action," Brown concluded.
