Editorial : This crazy climate is going to change our lives

 

Climate change is in full swing: the increase in the earth’s temperature will be +1 to +5° by the end of the century if we continue to produce the same level of greenhouse gases. With this global war­ming, we can not only anticipate pleasantly milder winters but rather we will have to endure living in a veritable furnace of 40° during the month of August.

 

Climate change is in full swing: the increase in the earth’s temperature will be +1 to +5° by the end of the century if we continue to produce the same level of greenhouse gases. With this global war­ming, we can not only anticipate pleasantly milder winters but rather we will have to endure living in a veritable furnace of 40° during the month of August.

We can also expect more forest fires and other natural disasters, such as those that have devastated the Caribbean and the southern coastline of the United States last month. There is still time to act, though: by drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and con­trolling pollution through the establish­ment of more green spaces in urban areas. The municipalities have a major role to play in this process, working in partnership with the farmers on land near the towns to combat pollution, preserve the soils and protect water resources. Unfortunately, the high invest­ment and maintenance costs all too often represent a major obstacle to the development of green infrastructure programmes, despite strong social demand. The public authorities will have to grasp the urgency of the situa­tion by adopting policies that offer financial incentives to the municipa­lities. Only time will tell whether the message has been understood.