Due to the increasing heavy rains, semi-earthen houses have become vulnerable to climate change. Climate change, which has penetrated deeply into our lives, reveals class and class problems, and inequality between developed and developing countries. random news
The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from the 6th. ‘Climate justice’, which asks how developed countries will take the historical responsibility for climate change, is emerging as a major item on the agenda. In February, the novelist Kwak Jae-sik, who gave an insightful commentary on climate change as a book, sent an article that will help build the foundations of perspective. editor’s note
One of the Canadian TV series that was broadcast in Korea in the early 1990s and was quite popular was ‘Superboy Andrew’. It was a story about a boy with supernatural powers as the main character, and if it is a scene that can be called a symbol of the series, the main character played by Jerry O’Connell flies into the sky and uses a sprayer in both. hands Although he has the superpower of accidentally flying into the air, he does not know how to change direction or how to position himself in the air, so the main character uses the power of the spray to move in the air little by little. However, at the beginning of the story, there is a scene where the doctor who lives next door, who plays the role of helping the main character, changes the syringe used by the main character to a new product which n use compressed air. This is because the original product used by the main character was to use a substance called chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) to spit out what was inside. Chlorofluorocarbons were a major international problem at the time and were treated as a representative pollutant. Knowing this situation, this scene is a clear trace of the history of the ozone layer depletion issue which received a lot of attention from all over the world in the early 1990s. The international community moved together towards the elimination of chlorofluorocarbons from all over the world when an international consultation was held under the title of the Montreal Protocol 1989. Not only will international sanctions be placed on the use of chlorofluorocarbons, but developed countries will not big buys them even if they make products using chlorofluorocarbons. Companies in all countries have no choice but to use replacement materials instead of chlorofluorocarbons to continue their business that became operational. Because of this, chlorofluorocarbons could disappear quickly. Why stock investors are sensitive to climate change So, these days, air conditioners and refrigerators use a substance called hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), which has emerged as a replacement for chlorofluorocarbons. You’ve probably heard someone come in to check on your air conditioner and say, “You need to refill the gas.” That gas is generally considered to be a hydrofluorocarbon. But these days, there is talk that some of those hydrofluorocarbons should be banned because they are a problem for the environment. This time, it is not about the destruction of ozone layers, but about global warming, that is, climate change. This is because it has been noticed the possibility of causing a much stronger climate change at the same pressure than carbon dioxide, which is the most common cause of climate change. However, this time too, developed countries have developed materials that can replace hydrofluorocarbons. Therefore, if hydrofluorocarbon regulations are strengthened to prevent climate change, air conditioner and refrigerator manufacturers will have no choice but to buy and use the material at a high price in developed countries that have developed alternative materials. In other words, developed countries and major powers decide which products can and cannot be sold based on environmental issues. The global economy has no choice but to keep up with it.
The participants of the Climate Justice March held by the ‘September Climate Justice Action’ included around 400 organizations including Greenpeace and the Climate Crisis Emergency Action lying on the road in Sejong-daero in Seoul on the 24th to warn about the climate crisis. ) protests.
In particular, among environmental problems, the climate change problem, which must be solved jointly by different countries, inevitably develops into an economic problem and an industrial problem between countries in this way. Europe pays little attention to fine dust in Korea or water scarcity in Ethiopia. However, many European countries have the idea of imposing sanctions on carbon dioxide emitted from the chimneys of Korean factories. Because carbon dioxide is spreading around the world and changing the world’s climate little by little, it can be said that Europe is also suffering. It seems that there was a time, in terms of environmental issues and environmental movements, when people focused only on liking nature, and thought that corporate activities and economic development were contrary to protecting the environment. I believe that such environmental movements are also valuable, and the idea of rediscovering the value of nature and reducing greed is very important in modern society. However, the fact that the world is changing more and more rapidly in response to recent climate change is more than that. It is right to see that many countries’ strategies to develop environmental technologies and reorganize their economic structures are having more influence in the age of climate change. Five years ago, conservation group members were the most sensitive to climate change news, but these days, stock investors are the quickest to hear about climate change. I looked at the stock market caps of the biggest automakers in Korea. It has long been Korea’s representative conglomerate, and is a large company that can be said to be a symbol of Korean industry and, by extension, Korean society. However, the company’s market capitalization is less than one-twentieth that of the leading American electric vehicle manufacturer. Currently, the electric vehicle industry is an important issue in responding to climate change, but it has become an important axis of the US stock market and the US economy. Under this circumstance, it is not surprising that American politicians and policy makers are passionately arguing that “the world needs to spread more EVs around the world to respond to climate change.” If a system to spread EVs around the world is implemented as claimed, it will help slow down climate change and at the same time greatly benefit the US economy. Is it a problem that can be solved by living a good life? For a while, there was a popular story that when climate change worsens, the ice in the Antarctic and the Arctic will melt and the sea water will rise, and the whole world will be submerged in floods and to destroy I think there is a time when such a climate change apocalypse could be an important topic of discussion. The plot resembles familiar old tales from Greek and Roman mythology and the myth of Gilgamesh, and is easily recognisable. However, I think these days are a time when a climate change apocalypse is not necessary. Even if it is not an apocalyptic theory, the problem of climate change is already too close to us. Rather, the climate change apocalypse seems to be similar to other apocalyptic theories, which has the adverse effect of feeling less realistic. Above all, the damage caused by climate change is different from the punishment in the myth. The harm of climate change is not to sinners, but to those who are socially vulnerable. Residents who live in low-lying areas who will suffer from flooding, farmers who suffer from wildfires or ruin their crops due to drought, and people in low-income countries who starve and threaten their lives when crop prices rising due to hunger and poor people being affected.
Kwak Jae-sik, novelist
I think 2022 is the time to get beyond vague apocalyptic theories and turn to reality. In doing so, the specific problems caused by climate change and how to deal with them come into sharper focus. Living a good, godly and sinless life is not an automatic response to climate change. Traditionally, environmental issues have focused on governments monitoring and controlling individuals and businesses to prevent them from taking any actions that could cause pollution. However, if we accept these widespread and tangible effects that climate change has on our society, it is naturally clear that the work of governments and communities must change. Society plays the role of helping the disadvantaged on how to support the disadvantaged, how to increase competitiveness and develop new technologies to move to a new industrial structure, like the doctor next door who gives Andrew a new compressed air syringe that should be able made Kwak Jae-sik, novelist
