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distinction is subtle but very important. The ultimate goal of mitigating climate
change is human beings rather than civilization. A disruption of the climate
system, as predicted, if we do nothing, will primarily affect our society. Social
organizations will weaken, and conflicts will appear due to pressures and
scarcity of natural resources, significantly impacting civilization. We already
know the conflicts over water scarcity and the migrations that it causes, with
social consequences that can intensify in the future.
That is why the IPCC received the Nobel Peace Prize. Its main contribution
is not to provide knowledge to preserve the planet but to preserve our
society.
Nature is resilient and will adapt to new environmental conditions. Some
species will disappear, and others will flourish, as has happened throughout the
Earth's history. This has also happened with civilizations, so this phenomenon
should worry us a lot.
How do we address it? There are two complementary strategies: mitigation,
which reduces society’s impact on the climate, and adaptation, which better
enables coping with the natural impacts that climate change will cause.
Current climate change mainly increases the intensity and frequency of events
that have always occurred, such as heat waves, floods, droughts, and landslides,
which are nothing new at all. We have faced them in the past, but they will be
increasingly intense and frequent in the future. To confront them, we must begin
by doing the best possible today and projecting the most significant future
impacts. Furthermore, a more affluent society increasingly demands that the
risks of natural events be reduced. It is important to prioritize critical areas.
The dominant strategy is to reduce the magnitude of the problem. That requires
a global effort, and we all know how difficult it is to agree on solutions with
global benefits, but local and many cases national costs. Unfortunately, the Paris
Agreement still fails to commit mitigation efforts to achieve its goal. At the
mercy of national will, these efforts can be relaxed in conflict situations such as
the war in Ukraine.
Is there hope? I trust so. Technology and private impulse, properly regulated,
are our only required options in the short term. Chile is an example of this. The
spectacular growth of renewable electricity generation is due to its lower cost
and a regulation that does not prevent its installation and operation. The life
cycle cost of electric buses is lower than their diesel equivalent. Heating with
inverter equipment is cheaper than its combustion alternative to generate heat.