More Top Ten Trends to Expect to Combat Climate Change in 2022!

#6: UN NATIONS WILL RE-NEGOTIATE THEIR COP26 COMMITMENTS HIGHER

The Glasgow Climate Pact, agreed to at the 2021 COP26 climate summit, will ask countries to revisit their short-term climate commitments by the end of 2022.

It requested that the countries strengthen their 2030 targets “as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal … taking into account different national circumstances.” 

Recent analyses have found that climate pledges currently put the Paris climate agreement targets out of reach. That agreement calls for limiting warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius when compared to pre-industrial levels, with the further goal of keeping warming beneath 1.5 degrees. 

Some countries that observers hope to see raise their ambition include China, Australia and Brazil. 

But it’s unclear which countries, if any, will actually increase their targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). The U.S., for one, has already indicated that it may not.

“You don’t automatically have to come back with a new NDC,” climate envoy John Kerry told reporters in November. “You have to review it, and, as necessary, you make a judgment about it.”

#5: EXPECT MORE CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION

That’s right. Expect More Lawsuits Attempting To Hold Big Polluters Accountable and force them to pay consequences for their past actions!  There are four in the USA of note:

-West Virginia et al v. Environmental Protection Agency et al

West Virginia and other states seek to limit federal power to use the landmark Clean Air Act (CAA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. 

-Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. BP P.L.C.

The city of Baltimore is seeking monetary damages from BP PLC and other energy companies due to costs caused by climate change.

-Conservation Law Foundation, Inc. v. Shell Oil Products US et al:

Environmentalists in this federal lawsuit accuse Shell Oil Products US of unlawfully failing to prepare a bulk storage and fuel terminal in Providence, Rhode Island, for near-term climate change impacts. 

-Juliana v. United States:

The youth plaintiffs in this lawsuit claim U.S. government policy inadequately protects them from the effects of climate change, putting their well-being at risk and depriving them of their rights to life, liberty and property under the U.S. Constitution. The initial suit was dismissed for “lack of standing,” but the plaintiffs have amended their complaint and are starting all over again.  Go Little Guy!

#4: HYDROGEN RISES AMONG THE RANKS OF VIABLE ALTERNATIVE FUELS

In the last days of last year, The Climate Daily featured a few stories on developments in generating hydrogen for aviation fuel, for powering trains and quietly-kept development by the US Navy.

2022 will see hydrogen rise even more in the ranks of alternative energy production. According to Scientific American, technologies to use excess solar and wind energy to run electrolyzers that convert water into hydrogen is already in play in the labs. The hydrogen could then be distributed in pipelines and converted back into electricity when needed.

Also, technologies to store hydrogen in tanks and underground caverns, forming a network that can energize industry and back up electric grids.

Already in Europe, Utilities commissions have required blending of hydrogen into natural gas pipelines to ease delivery of zero-carbon hydrogen fuel made with renewable electricity to industries and heavy vehicles. Now legislators policymakers and environmental activists in some Western United States are looking at ways to do the same here.

An example exists in Cappelle-la-Grande, a village in northern France. Hydrogen is flowing in pipes under the streets, helping to energize 100 homes. From Scientific American:

“On a short side road adjacent to the town center, a new electrolyzer machine inside a small metal shed zaps water with electricity from wind and solar farms to create “renewable” hydrogen that is fed into the natural gas stream already flowing in the pipes. By displacing some of that fossil fuel, the hydrogen trims carbon emissions from the community’s furnaces, hot-water heaters and stove tops by up to 7 percent.”

#3: GREY WATER TECHNOLOGY

Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater, and two-thirds of that is tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise unavailable for our use. Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed a growing human population have become stressed.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more.

That’s why grey water and grey water tech is so important, and will become increasingly important in 2022. Greywater can be characterized as any household wastewater produced, barring sewage (toilet water). 

As reported by The Climate Daily, effective use of grey water could save 8 trillion gallons of water annually in the USA alone! And it’s easy tech. Adoption of it really is all about education.Although people are keen to fight climate change, many are less willing to sacrifice aspects of their lifestyle to live more sustainably. So much of the development will focus on reducing the size of grey water systems, and making them affordable.

Tomorrow, the top 2 climate change combatting trends to follow in 2022!