Welcome to The Environmentalist, your column for understanding the natural world. Today we will introduce the Climate Clock, a bold reminder that the window we have to take action on climate change is rapidly closing.
Imagine yourself walking through a busy city square, where you stop in your tracks at a gigantic clock ticking down — not to the new year, but to the moment our planet reaches an irreversible climate tipping point.
The Climate Clock is a graphic countdown located in New York’s Union Square that demonstrates how quickly the planet is approaching the sustained temperature increase of 1.5°C. It also demonstrates nine lifelines — renewable energies representing the percentage of global energy consumption generated by renewable resources. Okay, cool, but what does the clock mean? First, in the special report on climate change published in 2018 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of climate experts quantified the remaining global carbon budget that can be emitted to keep global warming below 1.5°C. The Climate Clock shows how much time we have before this carbon budget runs out, using as a reference the amount of carbon we emit globally before reaching that limit. Second, the lifelines represent progress in the fight against climate change and serve as a symbol of hope.
The project originated when activists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd were inspired by similar projects. They created it with a collaborating team of scientists and environmental organizations, but failed miserably — their project wasn’t popular or understood for over a year, until Greta, the Greta Thunberg — a renowned environmental activist — wanted a clock to hold up during her speech in front of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The UN’s security team did not let the clock through, but still Greta made the project public, bringing the attention it deserved.
In addition to the lifelines, the project displays Indigenous land sovereignty, showing the total area of land and inland waters currently managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities around the world. The loss and damage lifeline represents what high-emitting countries owe for the devastating impacts their excessive carbon emissions cause. The gender parity lifeline shows the percentage of women represented in all national parliaments. Another, fossil fuel divestment, shows the reduction in investment toward big oil and gas. The regenerative agriculture lifeline measures hectares dedicated to sustainable agricultural practices, and another measures the money saved if we act now. “30×30” shows the progress within the initiative to protect 30 per cent of the Earth’s land and sea by 2030. Lastly, “End fossil fuel subsidies” shows the amount of money wasted on subsidizing dependence on fossil fuels instead of climate action.
The clock has received significant criticism, since it allegedly oversimplifies the intricate topic of climate change; even so, it serves as a way to inspire people toward climate action. Should we have a climate clock at UFV? Would we start caring then?
Let’s not forget what The Lorax once said: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.” So, let’s care.
