Photo by: Serjio74 / iStock
Those people who claim that the climate is not changing do not want to see, hear or understand anything. There have been fires, droughts and terrible floods all over the world this year. In some countries, hydropower plants were shut down due to lack of water, and nuclear power plants did not have enough water to cool the reactors. Because of the drought and the decline in agricultural production, the food industry had nothing to process. Food prices were rising and biodiversity was disappearing.
To change the situation it is necessary to reduce the CO2 emissions of the planet. There is a carbon tax, a cap-and-trade system and many other green instruments to achieve this.
Another effective mechanism for purchasing energy-efficient products is public procurement. For example, for schools and other institutions, it is possible to buy them and not something else.
In addition, in regions such as the Krasnodar region, it is possible to heat hot water using solar energy, install photovoltaic panels on the roofs of buildings, and install energy-efficient windows. This will save money from the regional budget to pay utility bills.
Another important task is to toughen the standards for energy efficiency in buildings. Now in Russia the rules in this sphere are rather soft, and their observance is rather poorly controlled. During construction of high-rise buildings heat insulation or installation of energy efficient windows takes place, but nobody checks whether the implemented solutions comply with all the standards, whether the system of automatic control of heat supply is established. In the case of low-rise buildings, there are also regulatory requirements for energy efficiency, but nowhere is it specified who should check their compliance. These are all serious challenges to the decarbonisation policy. They can and should be addressed.
Cover photo: Serjio74 / iStock
Comments