Fight against global warming/ Interview with Ms Eve Kuadjovi-Ayedeu, Climate Officer at the NGO Jeunes Volontaires pour l'Environnement (JVE)

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Extract from the article: Trees play a central role against climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and enhancing the resilience of landscapes: regulating flows, maintaining and enriching soils for agriculture, protecting coastal communities against extreme weathe

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« By destroying trees, we reduce the capacity of the global ecosystem to store CO2. Less trees means less CO2 absorbed and therefore more greenhouse effect »

Trees play a central role against climate change by absorbing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and enhancing the resilience of landscapes: regulating flows, maintaining and enriching soils for agriculture, protecting coastal communities against extreme weather events and sea level rise, and creating migratory corridors for animal and plant species. Deforestation leads to high emissions of carbon dioxide and other GHGs into the atmosphere and thus contributes to climate change. This is what Ms Eve Kuadjovi-Ayedeu, Climate Expert 2019, points out in this interview with Health-Education.

 

Santé-Education: What is climate change?

Ms Eve Kuadjovi Ayedeu: The term "climate change" refers to variations in temperature and weather conditions over the long term. These variations can be a natural phenomenon, but since the beginning of the 19th century they have been mainly the result of human activity, especially the use of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil and gas) which produce greenhouse gases.

What is global warming?

Global warming is a global phenomenon of climate change characterised by a general increase in average temperatures (particularly linked to human activities), which permanently alters weather patterns and ecosystems.

How does deforestation contribute to climate change and global warming?

Deforestation is the phenomenon of reducing forest areas. Deforestation occurs when forest areas are permanently lost (or at least lost in the long term) to other uses such as agriculture, urbanisation or mining. Deforestation also has a strong impact on climate change. Trees store CO2 throughout their lives. By destroying these trees, we reduce the capacity of the global ecosystem to store CO2. Fewer trees means less CO2 is absorbed and therefore more greenhouse effect. As a result, it is estimated that deforestation is responsible for the equivalent of 11.3% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, making it one of the biggest contributors to global warming on a par with road transport and energy consumption in buildings.

How is poor waste management the cause of climate change or global warming?

The waste sector is one of the top three methane emitting sectors - after agriculture, oil and gas - and is responsible for about 20% of the world's man-made methane emissions. In the short term, methane is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a climate pollutant and is responsible for almost half of the one degree Celsius warming we have experienced so far. Rapid and significant reductions in methane pollution are one of the key opportunities we have to slow the rate of global warming over the next two decades, a critical period for avoiding potentially irreversible climate tipping points. Moreover, mitigating methane pollution is essential to keeping the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement within reach.  

Interview by William O.