Earth Day — DW looks at climate, protest and policy in 2023
April 22, 2023
As activists mark Earth Day this Saturday, it feels like the climate coverage in the first months of 2023 has been dominated by extreme weather events including droughts, fires and floods, and by images of angry protesters demanding action. But some initiatives offer a glimmer of hope and possible ways to tackle climate emergencies.
Heat waves breaking records
Following the hottest summer on record that left large swathes of the Earth parched or on fire, experts have been warning that this summer may be even worse.
A winter drought has left parts of Europe particularly dry. France's geological service BRGM has warned that groundwater levels are at historic lows and the major drought the country witnessed last year is likely to be repeated.
Some rivers and reservoirs have already seen their water levels drop due to a lack of sufficient rain.
In neighboring Spain, the northern region of Catalonia is also expecting to enter a drought "emergency." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that drought would be a "central" debate for the country over the coming years.
UN figures have shown that Europe is warming faster than other regions of the world. However, intense heat waves in places like India — which just recorded its hottest February since 1901 — are already proving particularly difficult due to the country's location.
Experts have predicted intense heat through the summer which could have a disastrous effect on important crops. Extreme weather in general has also forced thousands of people to leave their homes.
Thailand also issued extreme heat warnings for large swathes of the country on Saturday, Reuters reported, after temperatures reached 42 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) in parts of Bangkok.
Climate protests continue
Environmental activists have made headlines in recent months by targeting major national as well as political symbols in various countries.
The protest group Last Generation, perhaps best known for angering drivers by blocking roads in Germany and the UK, just last week was able to grab attention by throwing an oil-like substance over the entrance to the headquarters of the German Free Democratic Party (FDP) in protest against the party's efforts to undermine a planned EU phase-out of fossil fuel-burning cars.
These actions have caused controversy with some saying that they only put people off. But others, including one of Germany's leading climate activists Luisa Neubauer, have called for more radical forms of protest while still focusing on non-violent civil disobedience.
One example of this form of disobedience, although ultimately unsuccessful, was the occupation of the small village of Lützerath in western Germany in January which had been condemned to be cleared for the expansion of a nearby open-pit coal mine.
The activist operation involved hundreds of people who dedicated large amounts of time and effort, but despite Germany's pledge to phase out coal by 2030, police removed the occupiers and made way for the giant land-eating excavator.
What policies have been proposed as solutions?
A report last week revealed that renewable energy from wind and solar broke a record last year, generating 12% of all global electricity for the first time.
For the European Union, 22% of power comes from wind and solar, however, this number hides the fact that growth in this sector has actually lagged behind the global average. Wind power only grew by 9% last year.
However, other new policies, such as the recently announced EU ban on goods linked to deforestation have been a cause for optimism. It prohibits any goods from being imported into the bloc from land that was deforested since the beginning of 2021.
There has also been a buzz around artificial intelligence this year — DW has already looked into some of the ways that AI could help reduce emissions and protect nature and the environment.
Another positive move that we saw just this Monday was the decision from Denmark to join other EU countries such as German, Spain and France in leaving the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT)— a pact that protects energy investors by allowing them to sue governments.
The ECT has been heavily criticized for getting in the way of necessary emission-reducing policies. It is hoped that other countries will soon follow suit, with Portugal appearing close to taking similar steps.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic