Connections between business, climate change, biodiversity – and beyond
The understanding and actions of businesses and companies regarding the climate and biodiversity crises are strategic issues. This is because they not only depend on but also impact the climate and biodiversity. This is a complex relationship that often ends up being overlooked precisely because it is not easy to understand and act upon. However, a more systemic, simplistic but useful notion can help to better understand what this relationship is about – as well as to make decisions and act effectively in the face of the dependencies and impacts that characterize it.
Understanding climate change
Climate change is the result of the intensification of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect occurs naturally on the planet and ensures the living conditions we need, since gases in the atmosphere help to retain the sun's heat and thus surface temperatures are more favorable for the various forms of life that inhabit the Earth - plants, animals and microorganisms. The intensification of the greenhouse effect as a result of human activity, mainly the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum derivatives, causes much more heat to end up being retained in the atmosphere. This extra heat ends up affecting the dynamics of the Earth in several ways, since it influences, for example, the movements of air masses and sea currents, which in turn affect atmospheric conditions in the short term (that is, what we see in the weather forecast). In the long term, changes in the weather due to the intensification of the greenhouse effect also end up changing the 'normal' patterns observed, which constitute the climate. Thus, in the long term, the greenhouse effect changes climate conditions so that, for example, dry seasons can last longer and be more intense in some years compared to others, and very dry years end up occurring at increasingly shorter intervals.
A very particular characteristic of climate change is that it is not a 'doomsday' scenario that affects everyone at the same time: the whole world will not suddenly turn into a scorching desert. It is, in fact, a gradual change in climatic conditions that ends up being remembered and discussed more intensely during extreme events. These can be droughts as described above, but also floods, storms (including snowstorms), hurricanes and fires. Sometimes, multiple events occur at the same time in different regions of the world and, at other times, different events occur in the same place but at different times because the seasons follow their course.
The impacts of climate change
Let us now look at the current drought that is happening in Brazil and affects everyone in many ways. This is a weather condition that has been changing the so-called 'normal pattern' by occurring more and more frequently in recent times and, therefore, characterizes a change in the country's climate. Without the expected rainfall, hydroelectric power generation is impaired and it is necessary to activate thermoelectric plants, which increases the electricity bill for everyone - including companies that need to pass on these extra costs to the consumer of their products and services. In other words, products and services become more expensive due to the lack of rainfall. There is a lack of water for domestic use, in industry and in the field. Food and commodities not only do they become more expensive for the Brazilian consumer but also for the foreign buyer, thus affecting the country's trade balance and economy. In short: Climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels causes less rain in Brazil, which has less water both for supply and for generating electricity in hydroelectric plants, which leads to the activation of thermoelectric plants that not only depend on water for cooling but also burn fossil fuels and increase the concentration of gases that intensify the greenhouse effect, driving climate change.
Climate change and deforestation
But Does it rain less just because of climate change directly linked to the burning of fossil fuels? The answer is no, since the effect of climate change on rainfall patterns is also aggravated by another factor: logging. Mainly in the Amazon. The standing forest absorbs a large amount of carbon, including that associated with the intensification of the greenhouse effect due to the burning of fossil fuels by human activity. It also regulates the water cycle on a local and regional scale (through the air corridors of humidity, or flying rivers, which extend to the center-south of the country). However, from a certain point estimated by scientists at 20-25% of deforestation in the Amazon, the resulting degradation makes the region become one of the 'factors' that produce climate change instead of mitigating its causes and effects. This is because in devastation beyond the point of no return (from the English tipping point), the emission of gases that intensify the greenhouse effect is greater than the forest's absorption capacity – which is already reality.
Furthermore, the interruption of the dynamics of the air corridors of humidity makes some areas of the Amazon and the center-south even drier, reducing the level of water reservoirs and making it difficult to generate electricity in hydroelectric plants.. These drier areas are also more susceptible to fires, especially criminal ones. These not only spread uncontrollably, causing biological, ecological, economic, human and social damage, but also increase the emission of gases that intensify the greenhouse effect and cause climate change. When there are fewer trees perspiring and thus releasing moisture into the atmosphere feeding the flying rivers that descend from the north to the center-south of the country, consequently it rains less in the center-south.
Deforestation in the Amazon has been breaking record after record. Illegal logging and the illegal expansion of agricultural activity are two major factors behind Amazon deforestation. In the center-south, the replacement (historical and recent) of natural vegetation by monocultures and pastures also worsens the effects of drought, since native and diverse vegetation allows the soil to have a greater capacity to retain moisture, acting as a sponge.. In other words, the soil 'swells' with water during the rainy seasons and during the dry seasons it gradually releases the stored water to neighboring areas. When it rains less, the chances of natural fires also increase, which are not only an indicator of the effects of climate change because they occur more frequently and on a larger scale, but also contribute to climate change itself since among the products of combustion are gases that intensify the greenhouse effect. In other words, extreme drought and associated fire are both a consequence of climate change and factors that drive it.
The preservation vs. production dilemma
It seems like a dead end: with population growth, more land for agriculture and livestock is needed, which leads to deforestation, which causes climate change. Deforestation and climate change affect rainfall patterns. The lack of rainfall harms the generation of hydroelectric power and it is necessary to activate thermoelectric plants that burn fossil fuels that emit gases that cause climate change. Deforestation and climate change affect rainfall patterns. The lack of rainfall harms agriculture, which feeds the growing population…
It turns out that more area is not necessarily needed, and Brazil brings examples of technologies in the field that increase productivity in existing or degraded areas. Furthermore, effective action on food loss and waste has the potential to impact access to food, especially for those in situations of food insecurity, reducing hunger. And on a global scale, the situation is very similar.
Food systems are responsible for more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activity and which intensify the greenhouse effect. And food systems are, at the same time, highly dependent on natural processes (ecosystem services), which are affected by climate change and deforestation. This happens, for example, when predators like jaguars – which need large, uninterrupted natural areas to live – can no longer find these areas because they have been deforested or burned, and they end up disappearing. Jaguars help control rodent populations that, in the absence of predators, multiply uncontrollably and end up damaging plantations. These are plantations that would feed a growing population, but which also suffer from the lack of water, which is a result of deforestation and climate change, which causes jaguars to disappear…
Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Regenerating man's relationship with nature
Nature works in cycles: water cycle, carbon cycle, nutrient cycle, the seasons. As we are part of nature, our actions also constitute cyclical processes. In the same way that the 'evil cycle' of climate change, deforestation, lack of water and so on compromises human existence in the long term, we must and can act in the 'good cycle': regenerating degraded areas, which in turn begin to sequester excess gases that exacerbate the greenhouse effect and restore the flying rivers, not only bringing rain back to the center-south of the country but also allowing the jaguar to feed on rodents at will. Thus, there is water security for generating electricity and also in the countryside, where there is no need to worry so much about pests that arise due to environmental imbalance and there is the possibility of feeding a growing population in a sustainable way. A population that thrives in a regenerating environment.
The first best time to roll up your sleeves and promote the cycle of good was at least 30 years ago, following the Earth Dome. The second best time is now.
Priscilla Santos
Volunteer Sustainability Assistant – CEBDS
