Humanity's second challenge to escape climate disaster!

Coal (fossil fuel), which was the driving force of the 18th century industrial revolution, has become a pariah in the 21st century.
This is because it is considered the main culprit of carbon emissions. The IPCC recently announced that the scale of the climate system changes is unprecedented in millions to thousands of years.
It is a 'code red' (warning of a serious crisis) for humanity.
Even in December 1952, the fog in London, England was thick.
Smog, a combination of smoke and fog, covered the city so thickly that it was difficult to see even an inch ahead.
It was the beginning of the London smog incident.
On the Thames, a steamer rammed a moored ship, and a train and a car collided.
In London, more than 4,000 people died from respiratory problems.
Afterwards, there were about 8,000 deaths from chronic lung disease.
After this incident, Britain focused on improving air quality for over 60 years.
Britain enacted the Clean Air Act in 1956 following the London smog disaster.
This was a milestone in creating a legal framework for environmental protection.
The policies implemented to reduce air pollution since then have been unimaginably strong by domestic standards.


Rather than slowing climate change, humanity is accelerating it.
The climate crisis has now become a matter of human survival.
Climate change on Earth has become more serious, and carbon neutrality is a global trend.
Our country also declared carbon neutrality, aiming to reduce carbon emissions or absorb more of them to achieve zero emissions by 2050.
If carbon neutrality is achieved by 2050, fossil fuels, which emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, will disappear from our daily lives, and global greenhouse gas emissions will reach zero.
The Industrial Revolution also saw massive transitions and unemployment. As we enter a post-carbon era, the impact on workers in high-carbon occupations could be even greater.
In the era of climate disaster, a 'just transition' aims to ensure that both the process and the outcome of the transition are just for all.
This book presents practical challenges for humanity's second challenge to escape climate disaster, highlighting the severity of the climate crisis, the need for carbon neutrality, and how to achieve it.

As the industrial revolution increased economic wealth, the population began to grow explosively.
London, the capital of England, had a population of one million in 1801, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
As populations became concentrated, large cities developed in Europe, including the UK.
With so many people flocking to the cities to make money, sanitation deteriorated and epidemics became widespread.
The black smoke pouring out from the factory often obscured the sky.
The factory's wastewater polluted the river.
(Omitted) City workers working in poor conditions died from illness from breathing polluted air.
He died without even knowing the cause.

---From "Part 1: The Declining Carbon Age"

London smog is considered one of the worst environmental disasters caused by mankind.
Similar substances are spewed into the air when a volcano erupts, but rarely has it claimed so many lives in such a short period of time.
The London smog brought the issue of environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels to the world's attention and had a huge impact.
Britain enacted the Clean Air Act in 1956, four years later.

---From "Part 1: The Declining Carbon Age"

The disaster caused by fossil fuels did not end here.
This is because the combustion of fossil fuels emits not only air pollutants but also greenhouse gases.
Carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases that increase Earth's temperature and are the main culprits of climate change.
Ultimately, fossil fuels have a devastating impact on both the environment and the climate.
While atmospheric pollution causes immediate and visible damage, climate change occurs over very long periods of time and is therefore less easily perceived.
---From "Part 1: The Declining Carbon Age"

What is the primary reason we've moved from the stable Holocene to an era of climate instability? It's the dramatic increase in greenhouse gas emissions caused by industrialization, globalization, and population growth.
Unlike natural climate change, which occurs gradually, anthropogenic climate change occurs rapidly over a short period of time.
Human civilization has reached its peak, but we are more vulnerable to climate shocks than ever before.
So, have humans emitted enough greenhouse gases to change the climate?
---From "Part 1: The Declining Carbon Age"

Greenhouse gases play a role in maintaining the Earth's temperature at an appropriate level, but their amount has increased too much since the Industrial Revolution, becoming a problem.
In the past, it was released into the atmosphere through natural volcanic activity, but now fossil fuels such as coal and oil are the main sources of emissions.
The amount of carbon dioxide produced by human activities is estimated to be 100 times the amount emitted naturally.
By forcibly removing fossil fuels from the ground and burning them, a huge amount of carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere in a short period of time.
---From "Part 2: The Truth and Warnings of the Climate Crisis"

The main culprit that has raised the Earth's temperature to this level is greenhouse gases emitted by humans.
It is an obvious fact that can no longer be avoided or denied.
When the 5th Assessment Report was released, the global carbon dioxide concentration was 391 ppm.
However, in the most recent 6th report, it increased to 410 ppm.
It first surpassed 400ppm, which was called the 'magic wall', in 2015, and then broke through 410ppm in 2019, four years later.
---From "Part 2: The Truth and Warnings of the Climate Crisis"

While the Kyoto Protocol focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Paris Agreement focused not only on reductions but also on climate change adaptation and mitigation, and support for developing countries.
Compared to 1997, when the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, climate change has accelerated to the point that talk of a "new normal" is already taking place in 2015.
As abnormal weather becomes the norm, adapting to climate change and mitigating its impacts has become more important than ever.

---From "Part 2: The Truth and Warnings of the Climate Crisis"

Our country has set a strong goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
First, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 40% by 2030 compared to 2018.
The 'Basic Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth', which contains these reduction goals, went into effect on March 25, 2022.
It was the fourteenth country in the world to enact a law on carbon neutrality.
---From "Part 3: Carbon Neutrality, How?"

This is why there are voices saying that we should reduce meat consumption and become vegetarian to prevent the climate crisis.
When cows burp and fart during the digestive process, methane is released.
Nitrous oxide is produced in cow dung.
Don't think about one or two cows raised in the countryside.

---From "Part 3: Carbon Neutrality, How?"

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the most urgent task is to shift the focus of power generation to renewable energy.
These days, we can easily find wind turbines and solar panels around us.
Although renewable energy has increased, its share of total power generation still remains in the single digits at around 7%.
Renewable energy is still an expensive energy source in our country.
---From "Part 3: Carbon Neutrality, How?"

If the carbon tax bill passes the National Assembly, the top 100 companies by greenhouse gas emissions will bear the majority of the carbon tax.
By industry, the power generation and energy sectors are expected to bear the greatest burden.
The steel, petrochemical, cement, and oil refining sectors followed.
In particular, there are predictions that the carbon tax burden on Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and power plants that produce electricity will increase, which will ultimately lead to an increase in electricity rates.
---From "Part 3: Carbon Neutrality, How?"

June 20th is World Refugee Day.
In the past, when people thought of refugees, they thought of war, but now the situation has changed.
As the climate crisis worsens, the term “climate refugee” is being heard more and more frequently.
For climate refugees, the climate crisis is not a future disaster, but a real threat to their survival.
The definition of a climate refugee is someone who has been forced to temporarily or permanently leave their home due to sudden or drastic climate change.
This includes both moving to another region within the country and moving abroad.
---From "Part 4: A Just Transition in the Decarbonized Era"

A just transition is based on the principle that the process and outcome of transitioning to a decarbonized world must be fair and just.
It all started with the worst soil contamination incident that was highlighted in the American media in August 1978.
The city of Love Canal, outside Niagara Falls, New York, has been severely polluted by illegal chemical dumping.
A state of emergency was declared in the city, which led to the creation of the Superfund, a law to manage hazardous industrial waste.
The idea is to tax the chemical industry and use the money to restore soil when it becomes polluted.

---From "Part 4: A Just Transition in the Decarbonized Era"

As we move beyond a climate crisis and head towards a climate catastrophe, the power of individuals may seem weak, but it is also individuals who can change this world.
When individual courageous words and actions come together, they become powerful and bring about enormous change.
What I must remember is that while I may not be able to shut down coal plants or stop oil drilling right away, if I consistently speak out and demand it, someone may change their mind and eventually lead to collective change.

---From "Part 5 We Can Do It Too"