Ha pasado casi una década desde que se firmara el histórico Acuerdo de París; un pacto vinculante que consiguió reunir a 195 países con un objetivo común: frenar el avance del cambio climático. Los signatarios se comprometieron a emprender las medidas necesarias para mantener la temperatura global de la Tierra por debajo de 1,5 ˚C respecto a los niveles preindustriales. Y, para ello, se perfiló necesario recortar las emisiones de dióxido de carbono (CO2) alrededor del 45% hasta 2030 respecto a las emisiones en 2019 como paso previo para alcanzar el net zero en 2050. Uno de los mayores desafíos a los que se ha enfrentado la humanidad.
Climate change is the greatest global challenge of the 21st century. Although the history of our 4.6-billionyear-old planet has seen repeated climate fluctuations, there is no doubt that mankind is responsible for the largest share of current global warming as a result of carbon dioxide emissions. It is precisely the high speed at which climate change is progressing that poses an enormous problem. Neither flora and fauna nor humans can adapt that quickly to the changed environmental conditions. The destruction of animal and plant species, wars over water and other resources, famines and migratory flows are all areas of conflict which are mainly caused by climate change. Climate change is the topic of this century and thus also the decisive part of the future of today's pupils.
Digitalization is a core component of the green transition. Today’s focus is on quantifying and predicting the climate effects of digitalization through various life-cycle assessments and baseline scenario methodologies. Here we argue that this is a mistake. Most attempts at prediction are based on three implicit assumptions: (a) the digital carbon footprint can be quantified, (b) business-as-usual with episodic change leading to a new era of stability, and (c) investments in digitalization will be delivered within the cost, timeframe, and benefits described in their business cases. We problematize each assumption within the context of digitalization and argue that the digital carbon footprint is inherently unpredictable. We build on uncertainty literature to show that even if you cannot predict, you can still mitigate. On that basis, we propose to rethink practice on the digital carbon footprint from prediction to mitigation.
Introduction: in the context of global environmental challenges, university education emerges as a fundamental pillar to cultivate proactive attitudes towards sustainability. This research not only seeks to influence individual perceptions, but also the ability of these students to contribute significantly to policies and decision-making processes related to the environment.
Objective: implement a methodological proposal that uses educational events, artistic events and social responsibility projects to strengthen attitudes towards environmental sustainability in university students.
Method: a quantitative approach and a pre-experimental design were used, applying pre-test and post-test to students from five majors at a public university. The intervention was based on four thematic axes: classification and selection of solid waste, rational use of water, efficient use of electrical energy and university safety.
Results: the results revealed positive changes in student attitudes, with significant increases in solid waste classification (from 28 % to 72 %), university safety (from 32 % to 75 %), rational use of water (from 34 % % to 76 %) and energy efficiency (from 43 % to 82 %). In addition, a strengthening of continuous environmental knowledge was observed by 46 %, representing an increase of 81 %.
Conclusions: these findings suggest that universities can play a crucial role in promoting environmental educational policies that train professionals committed to nature and future generations, thus contributing to the construction of a paradigm that integrates ethics and socio-environmental responsibility.
Sustainability has become one of the most buzzworthy terms of the 21st century. Defined in 1987 as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs", it has gained prominence in recent years, as the effects of climate change around the globe become increasingly more pronounced.
This report provides statistics on some of the leading sustainability trends worldwide. It includes key data distributed across five focus areas: economic, environmental, corporate, and consumer sustainability.