Earth Day | Dawn

It may have gone unnoticed by some, but yesterday was Earth Day. It was already established in 1970, when some dramatic incidents, such as shipwrecks resulting in huge oil spills, showed the catalytic effect of the human factor on the environment. In Greece, if one excludes the initiatives of companies that were late but appreciated the importance of “Greenwashing”, no one appeared to be busy with the issue, in contrast to mobilizations in many parts of the world.

The data from the Copernicus Program was not published by accident yesterday of course. The hope was that the circumstances of the day would favor a greater attention from the authorities. But mostly it would bring some answers. The shocking news primarily concerns Europe, which likes to pride itself on its green sensibility. The news is simple and measurable: The average temperature in Europe in 2023 was 2.6 degrees above that of the pre-industrial period, smashing the limit of 1.5 degrees set as a target by international organizations.

This means that the nice words we have been hearing for decades have no practical effect. More and more areas of Europe, and especially of the Mediterranean, are threatened with desertification. In 2023, 11 out of 12 months ended with a record high temperature. Glaciers are melting, seas are warming, floods are followed by periods of drought, days of extreme heat stress are multiplying, meteorological conditions are becoming more and more unstable.

Mortality from heat waves has increased by 30% over the past two decades. But politicians flaunt paper straws and dream of new mineral deposits and sea mining. They use the green transition as an alibi for social “sacrifices”. It is therefore logical to expect new negative records for 2024.