COP-30 e o agravamento da crise climática - caminhos para a construção de uma sociedade sustentável

There are strong societal expectations for changes in the strategy for addressing global climate change. The rapid increase in the incidence and intensity of extreme weather events has sounded like a clear warning to the population, highlighting the climate emergency. COP-30 reflects society’s anxiety, with a necessary change in the global strategy to eliminate the extraction and use of fossil fuels and the implementation of public policies aimed at climate adaptation. Science makes it clear that the current trajectory of high emissions is leading the planet’s climate to warm by an average of 3 degrees Celsius, which in Brazil is reflected in a temperature increase of 4 to 4.5 °C. Significant reductions in rainfall are predicted for Central Brazil, the Amazon, and the Northeast, with an increase in rainfall expected for Rio Grande do Sul. These changes impact Brazil’s agricultural production and hydroelectric generation and have numerous other adverse effects on society. Brazil’s ecosystems are expected to undergo profound changes, and the resulting impacts on population health cannot be overlooked. The need to rethink our economic development, while respecting planetary boundaries and addressing the necessary reduction in social inequalities, is putting pressure on COP-30. We need to build a minimally sustainable society, with zero carbon emissions, lower socioeconomic disparities, that respects planetary boundaries, and is based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A difficult task, but one on which a dignified life for our children and grandchildren depends. Ethical issues are increasingly important, as we have no right to compromise the lives of human beings who have just been born or who will soon be born. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) pave the way for building this new society. COP30 can make the necessary turn towards a new Sustainable Society.

KEYWORDS:
Climate Change; Environment; Economic development; Climate justice and ethics; Sustainable Development Goals