From the Paris Agreement to COP 22, the fight against global warming is at a turning point. But over all these years, together with all of you, LifeGate has done a great deal for the climate — with Impatto Zero®, Foreste in piedi and renewable energy for businesses and, very recently, for our homes.
On 4 November the Paris Agreement entered into force — the most important international treaty against climate change, which for the first time includes and involves all the world's major powers, the principal sources of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. From 7 to 18 November, COP 22 is being held in Marrakech, Morocco. The conference must put into practice and establish the milestones for achieving the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement entered into force thanks to ratification by countries that together account for at least 55 per cent of global CO2 emissions, which are responsible for global warming. The threshold was triggered by the European Union's ratification, given that the United States and China (responsible on their own for 38 per cent of emissions) had already ratified the agreement on the eve of the September G20, and that India did so on 2 October.
The key point of the 31-page document drafted during COP 21 concerns limiting the increase in average global temperature: in the coming years, it must be possible to avoid exceeding the ceiling of 2 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, signatory states are called upon to make concrete commitments to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees by 2100. Acting swiftly is the most urgent issue, given that, according to studies from all meteorological offices, the Earth has already reached its highest temperature in 115,000 years, and the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has already surpassed the symbolic threshold of 400 ppm (parts per million).
To mitigate global warming and climate change, CO2 emissions must be reduced as soon as possible.
Since its founding in 2000, LifeGate has addressed everyone — individuals and businesses alike — to promote sustainability in lifestyle choices and business decisions.
It has created concrete projects and effective tools to reduce ecological impact, adopt renewable energy, protect existing forests and expand their extent. Trees have the capacity to absorb CO2: depending on latitude and age, each one absorbs tens of kilograms per year, with figures far more favourable in equatorial zones, where the growth, lushness and density of plants is exponentially greater than, for example, in the Ticino Park.
The first project in Italy for the calculation, reduction and offsetting of CO2 emissions was Impatto Zero®. Since 2002, the businesses that have embarked on sustainability journeys with LifeGate have confirmed the success of the idea. Concretely, thanks to the 7,000 businesses that have shared this commitment, Impatto Zero® today extends across 70 million square metres of forest created or protected, in Italy, Costa Rica, Madagascar, Panama, New Zealand and Bolivia, with 500 million products bearing the Impatto Zero® mark. 321,000 tonnes of CO2 offset.
Foreste in piedi, the LifeGate project by Icei and Avive, has protected 5,600,000 square metres of green space in Brazil every year since 2012.
One Like One Forest is one of the web and social tools to help the initiative grow. Every new "Like" on the LifeGate Facebook page and on the Facebook pages of participating members — or, depending on the agreement, every visit to a website — contributes to the protection of one square metre of the Amazon through Foreste in Piedi. Across all participating Facebook pages and websites combined, we have surpassed 1,250,000 square metres.
The CO2 avoided from 2005 to 2016 (for 2016 we have included estimates) amounts to 338,814,598 kg of CO2.
The CO2 offset through Impatto Zero® from 2009 to 2016 amounts to 13,046,160 kg of CO2. The Impatto Zero renewable energy project launched precisely in 2009.
Had one tried to achieve these results alone, LifeGate could not have obtained even a fraction of these figures. But together, individuals and businesses have sent a clear message about the need to adopt a way of life that respects both people and the environment. A message that has spread, and that is reinforced and made concrete every day with ever greater effect.