Blue Brake
BLUE BRAKE or Let’s Do It Differently!
Climate change, with its consequences for the Blue Planet – Earth, is ongoing. It has occurred in the past and is still happening now. Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising (currently around 4.4 mm/year), and the weather is changing, not only in Europe. Concerns about drought in various parts of the world, widespread fires, and potential famine are increasing. There is no doubt about it.
There are certainly many causes for these changes, including solar eruptions and the tilt of the Earth’s axis. One cause may also be the increase in the amount of greenhouse gases: water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, ozone, freons, and more. The principle of this theory, which we do not dispute, is that solar radiation that reaches the Earth and makes it habitable is partially reflected back into space. However, since our atmosphere is not completely transparent to this reflected radiation, a portion of it is absorbed and re-radiated back to the Earth’s surface. This is what we somewhat exaggeratingly refer to as the greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases (as mentioned above). It must be said that without this effect, the temperature of the planet’s surface would be below freezing, much less habitable than it is now. The fact remains that the amount of greenhouse gases has been increasing recently, resulting in a slight intensification of the greenhouse effect. However, it is difficult to quantify their influence on climate change. By the way, the amount of CO2 produced by humans corresponds to approximately 3.5% of the total amount produced by our planet, and out of that 3.5%, only 8.6% is produced by those of us living in Europe! That’s a little over three per thousand of the total CO2 production on Earth. Additionally, CO2 is only one of the greenhouse gases – its share is up to 26%, while the share of water vapor is 45-65% (up to 80% in cloudy conditions).
Although current levels of CO2 in our atmosphere are slightly increasing, they are significantly lower than before. (See graph below)
Graph depicting the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere over hundreds of millions of years.
Chart of the share of CO2 production in 2020 by individual countries and regions of the world.
Climate change has other causes besides greenhouse gases, such as ocean currents, which also have a significant impact on entire continents. In this context, there is much discussion about the El Niño phenomenon, which affects large areas of the Pacific Ocean and subsequently the weather in Australia, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. Simply put, climate change is a complex combination of various factors and connections that we cannot fully understand or accurately assess their mutual influence.
What is certain, however, is that only Europe is leading by example and has successfully reduced CO2 production by more than 20% since 2008. Others, on the contrary, have not achieved significant reductions. (See chart below)
From the above, it can be concluded:
- Climate change is ongoing.
- Numerous factors contribute to climate change.
- Greenhouse gases are just one factor.
- The impact of human-produced greenhouse gases on climate change is minor and difficult to quantify.
- Europe’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will only have a marginal or negligible effect on global climate change.
The European Commission and the European Parliament, based on these facts, do not have the right to make profound changes to the lives of European citizens without proper debate and without giving citizens the opportunity to decide on these changes.
With the adoption of the Climate Law by the European Union (in June 2021), the EU committed to achieving a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 and full carbon neutrality by 2050.
These targets are being developed into a set of Fit for 55 measures that aim to have a significant impact on greenhouse gas production in Europe, affecting not only energy but also industries, agriculture, housing, and more. Practically everything we know now, including cars, will need to change, potentially resulting in negative consequences for individuals.
With our BLUE HOPE- BLUE BREAK project, our initiative aims to challenge the system of Emission Allowances, the main instrument of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which was adopted many years ago but has now gone out of control.
We seek to use a petition in the format of the European Citizens’ Initiative, gathering one million signatures across at least seven EU countries, to request the European Commission to halt the trading of emission allowances. We want to initiate a discussion about the Green Deal project and its effects on Europe and its citizens. We want to provide space for a meaningful fight for a better environment and protection against climate change.