CLIMATE CHANGE
The former vice president of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that storms and floods are becoming more frequent in Rio Grande do Sul, as well as severe droughts and forest fires in the Pantanal and the Amazon. The expert adds that Rio de Janeiro will also suffer from the crisis as sea levels rise, and stresses the responsibility of states in reducing emissions.
25.08.2024 7:00 a.m. – Modified 1 day ago
Even if greenhouse gas emissions are stopped, storms and floods will become more frequent in Rio Grande do Sul, and severe droughts and wildfires in the Pantanal and the Amazon. These impacts will come on top of rising sea levels and affect coastal cities like Rio de Janeiro, warns Thelma Krug, former vice president of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
“Even the measures taken in the Rio Grande do Sul to contain the rise in water levels were not enough. This was an extreme and rare climate event that occurs every 100 years and will now occur at increasingly shorter intervals. I foresee major challenges for states in the future, and these challenges will only get greater as global warming increases,” said Krug while participating in the G20 side event “States of The Future”.
The scientist, who was considered for the post of head of the United Nations (UN) climate panel, stressed that each state has its own characteristics and responsibilities, regardless of its national efforts in dealing with climate change.
“In Rio de Janeiro, for example, there are numerous illegal settlements and there is a lack of basic sanitation facilities and drinking water. In other words, sustainable development is severely limited there,” says Krug.
For João Paulo Capobianco, executive secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the floods in Rio Grande do Sul are proof that climate change is unavoidable because “it is already happening.” In the Pantanal, the drought has been brought forward by four months compared to the historical pattern, he said.
“The challenge is to mobilize Brazilian society. In reality, it is about the need for cultural change. It is about structural changes in an extremely divided society, where the short-term perspective far outweighs the ability to plan for the long term,” stressed Capobianco.
Increasing inequalities, even more dramatic impacts
Letícia Leobet, international consultant to Geledés – Instituto da Mulher Negra, was even more explicit about the damage that inequality is causing to local sustainable development in Brazil. She argued that solutions to the crisis must be tailored to the specific characteristics and needs of territories and communities, especially those that have been historically underprivileged.
“Without fighting racism and without real political commitment, there can be no sustainable development. Talking about the political will and commitment to fight racism must be a priority. People of African descent make up 56 percent of the Brazilian population,” she said.
Leobet also stressed that dialogue with society is essential if their knowledge is to be legitimized. She also stressed the importance of involving community representatives in discussions on sustainability, as they are the ones most affected by the climate crisis and at the same time contribute the least to it.
“It seems to be a universalistic scenario, as if people had neither race, nor class, nor gender,” Leobet stressed, adding that only by recognizing these dimensions “will it be possible to find comprehensive answers.”
States of the Future is carried out by the Brazilian Ministries of Management and Innovation in Public Service (MGI), Foreign Affairs (MRE), Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is organized by Maranta and the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) in Brazil, with the support of the Open Society Foundations and República.org.
