Sustainability Highlights of 2019

This are sustainability highlights 2019:

What will happen if the planet's temperature rises by just half a degree?

Half way through the year, the UN's panel of scientists, the IPCC, published a devastating report on how the planet will be impacted if global warming reaches the 1.5°C or 2°C ceilings. The conclusions were clear — the first option is bad, but the second is devastating. If the progressive rise goes on to reach 2°C above the pre-industrial era temperature, the global warming consequences will spray in every direction like a cluster bomb. In this article, we explain what will happen if the planet’s temperature rises by half a degree.

How to pollute less in cities to achieve carbon neutrality

Our situation means that the climate crisis can only be solved by reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. At Sustainability for all, we explain the measures that many cities are taking in order to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030and carbon neutrality.

Ranking of countries with the highest water stress

One of the biggest impacts of the climate crisis is on our water resources. Scientists predict that around a fifth of the world's countries will face water-related problems by 2040. We explain the concept of water stress and the countries that suffer most from it using data from 2019.

What is desertification?

One of the main causes of water scarcity is desertification; a process in which our planet's fertile lands are rendered unproductive and turned into deserts and in which human activities play a decisive role. In this two-minute video, we summarise the causes and consequences of desertification and some measures to combat the desertification.

What is reverse osmosis desalination?

Although water covers 70% of the Earth's surface, 98% of it is in the form of seas and oceans, i.e. salt water. With reverse osmosis desalination, we can take advantage of this fact and try to tackle some of the key problems facing humans, such as those discussed in the two previous articles. This article, with the help of a simple yet informative video, explains why reverse osmosis desalination is the most advanced, efficient and beneficial for the planet method of desalination.

End is nigh for throwaway plastic

Among the articles of 2019, we keep finding some that are very encouraging and that show momentum in terms of the sustainable development of the planet. The Council and Parliament of the European Union, for example, have reached an agreement that a ban on certain single-use plastics will come into force from 2021. Plastic waste accumulating in our oceans is already an unsustainable problem. With this measure, no plastic means no pollution. This article explains which single-use plastics will be banned.

Guide for eliminating unnecessary plastic from our daily life

However, in addition to these legislative measures to ban single-use plastics, do you think it is possible to reduce the amount of plastic that we use every day? Some are unequivocal in their answer: yes. We have assembled some guides containing useful tips on how to eliminate unnecessary plastic from our day-to-day lives.

The other Amazonias that also burn

The Amazon fires made the front pages this summer. About 2.5 million hectares burned down in 2019; an environmental tragedy that has alarmed people the world over. But not everything on fire lies in the Amazon. Great droughts and searing temperatures form the perfect conditions for rapid propagation of fires at other locations on the planet too, for example in Africa or the Arctic. In this article, we talk about the other Amazonias that have also burnt in 2019.

Fridays for Future: time's against the planet

The fight against the climate crisis is no longer just for scientists — in 2019, it became a widespread social demand, as we have seen on COP25. There is still time to act, but real solutions are needed. The youth of our planet is taking this very seriously. Fridays for Future, the global student movement led by Greta Thunberg, began spontaneously and now leads demonstrations by millions of young people around the globe. In this article, find out about Fridays for future and its protests against the climate emergency.

Six things you can do to prevent climate change

This social demand to fight against climate change, which is moving the masses, is not only calling on governments and companies — change starts with you! Here are six things you can do to prevent climate change.

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