A long-term strategy to address the climate crisis

Last year, 70% of the new conflicts registered by the Ombudsman's Office were of a socio-environmental nature. Many of them related to water. Year by year, the impacts on the availability of this resource throughout Peru are increasing due to climate change. Thus, the future outlook is worrisome because of the high vulnerability to climate change of already troubled sectors, such as agriculture and mining. Therefore, it is not surprising that President Francisco Sagasti, in his inaugural speech, mentioned “the slow-motion catastrophe of climate change, but not as slow as we thought”. Solving this problem must be an absolute priority in our country and the world.

According to nexos+1, The global economy is moving towards decarbonization and resilience, and the private sector in particular has a crucial role to play in achieving the most important global objective: the carbon neutrality by 2050. In this sense, renewable energies; mass, electric and zero-emission transportation; as well as the promotion of nature-based solutions, are trends that are gaining more and more strength. The World Economic Forum (WEF) is already talking about a “green economy".“new economy of nature”which could generate up to $10.1 trillion in annual business value and create 395 million jobs by 2030. BlackRock, the world's largest investment manager, has already announced that it will vote against the strategic plans of all the companies in which it is a shareholder if it does not see significant progress in their sustainability policies.

The global Climate Action Tracker project has concluded that if the 127 countries that signed the Paris Agreement comply with their carbon neutrality strategies, the temperature increase could be 2.1°C by 2100. This, although insufficient, is encouraging, as the most extreme scenarios tell us of temperature increases of more than 4°C. The study also concludes that it is essential that all the countries of the world strengthen their climate commitments by 2030 and propose a strategy for 2050.

At the Peruvian level, it is urgent that we agree on the future we want for the Bicentennial. ¿We see ourselves as a competitive country that cares for and values its natural resources., Or as a repository of obsolete technology with increasing levels of vulnerability and social conflict? The challenge is great and the context difficult, but we must be guided by optimism. The State, the business community and civil society have the opportunity to build a holistic vision on the role of climate risk management, natural capital and environmental care in the coming decades, within the framework of the process of updating the National Climate Change Strategy led by the Ministry of Environment.

Will you join the transformation?