Editorial | Climate change is real and resolve is needed to mitigate the effects

Heatwaves, droughts and wildfires ravaging the northern hemisphere this summer offer a window into what the future will be like if climate change is not brought under control. The unusual phenomena of a third successive La Nina weather pattern in the south is predicted to bring more floods and colder temperatures for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

There are now few who deny global warming, and debate has turned to how bad extremes and impacts will get. But even as the evidence of inadequate action mounts, countries in the vanguard of decarbonisation efforts are back-peddling by turning to coal and oil to generate electricity.

Europe is among the biggest culprits, even though it has been a leader in reducing emissions of carbon blamed for causing temperatures to rise. Russia’s war in Ukraine has thrown into disarray plans to meet targets, concern about disruption to gas supplies prompting countries to again turn to highly polluting coal and oil for electricity.

But as in Sichuan and other parts of drought-hit China and much of the western United States, prolonged drought across the European Union has also caused severe drops in water levels in reservoirs on major rivers used to generate hydropower.

Searing temperatures and power cuts are the most obvious sign of climate change this summer. Less noticeable to everyday life are factory production cuts or closures to conserve electricity, crops that are devastated and cargo ships having to carry lighter loads. The latter has become a reality on the Rhine River, western Europe’s most important waterway that is critical for industries in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Shipments have had to be lessened to prevent vessels from running aground, leading to increases in transportation costs and disruptions to supply chains.