Humans have never known the levels of carbon dioxide currently in our atmosphere. The last time levels were this high was a very, very long time ago.
The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to human activity has already changed our climate. If we don’t act on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions then the process will continue, raising global temperatures to a catastrophic level.
International climate change agreements and legally binding net zero targets aim to prevent that kind of runaway change. If we abide by those agreements and targets then the climate will still change and global temperatures will still rise, but to a level marginally below that of ‘catastrophic’.
In recent weeks and months I’ve seen a few examples of construction marketing talking about possibly “reversing” climate change. Unless I’ve missed something, using the word “reversing” speaks to a fundamental misunderstanding of what is happening and why, and what we’re trying to do about it and why.
The construction industry has a significant role to play in the next 30 years and beyond, helping society to meet agreements and targets. That role will require unparalleled cooperation, commitment and excellence just to stand a chance of keeping the world from a future that isn’t utterly terrible.
Glib suggestions that ‘specifying and installing product X’ could help to reverse climate change - could contribute to cooling a planet with more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than a human has ever experienced - really, really frustrate me.
It downplays the scale of what needs to happen, it treats its audience like children, and it is just plain wrong.