UN Glasgow Climate Control Initiatives: Good for Beekeeping?

I was intrigued by one result of the huge climate change conference held a bit ago in Scotland. That is, the concept of “Net 0”. Each participant presented promises of reducing CO2 and other warming gas emissions to “Net 0” by some future date.

I’ve done some digging and turned up what I think was meant by that - that is, by that certain future date this or that country will be adding only as much greenhouse gas as it was removing or preventing from being formed, thus a “Net 0” change in atmospheric carbon.

What wasn’t addressed by this, however, is just because we aren’t adding additional carbon, doesn’t make what is already here go away, right?

By one estimate, the Global Land Temperature has risen by 1.5C in the last 250 years – roughly since the beginning of both modern agriculture and manufacturing – and 0.9C, roughly 60% of that total, has occurred in the past 50 years. But look around you. That increase is causing the problems we are having today, right now. Floods, extreme weather events, droughts, fundamental warming – is this what we are willing to settle for?

Because at “Net 0”, that’s what we’ll have.

What else came from that conference and a whole library of research, was a bit more promising. They pointed to how we can accomplish not a “Net 0” but rather a less than “0” net. The research illustrated the fundamental ways and means to not just keep what we have, but reduce what’s already there. This while at the same time not adding any more, they report the effects of greenhouse gas emissions will not stay the same, but will actually be reduced.

Now there’s a promising goal!

Next time here we’ll take a look at some of these actions and better, what side effects may occur that will enhance the probability that bees, beekeepers and beekeeping might not only survive, but thrive in a world with LESS than ‘Net 0’ and… cooler at that!