Climate change requires climate action

Today we recognize Earth Day. On its 50th anniversary, this year’s focus is on the most pressing environmental issue of our time, climate change.

Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity. All of us must come together to address this challenge if we are to ensure the sustainable continuation of our planet and its resources for our children and future generations.

While current circumstances have resulted in a revision to predicted increases in global carbon emissions for 2020, we must not lose focus on the long-term importance of this topic. Despite the extraordinary circumstances we currently face, the challenges of climate change are ongoing, urgent and must remain a high priority for all.

In 2019, as part of COP25, 80 countries pledged to increase their climate change actions with more than 70 committing to work towards achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Such announcements undoubtedly represent a positive step towards achieving a more sustainable future, but what we need now is action to deliver on these promises. Public and private sector collaboration is essential if we are to create a marketplace that will enable dramatic reductions in emissions and build resilience.

I personally feel very proud to work for a company taking positive steps to this effect. Not only do we place sustainability at the heart of our own operations, we also provide support to many like-minded organizations, helping them to achieve their potential.

While cities only cover 2 percent of the earth’s surface it is estimated that they consume almost 80 percent of the world’s energy and are responsible for more than 60 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, mainly through energy generation, transportation and industry.

With the pressures of rapid urbanization, we must find a way to grow sustainably.

ABB Electrification has for many years supported customers across a wide variety of sectors with solutions to enable such sustainable development. Whether it be creating technology to improve the energy efficiency of data centers operations, pioneering energy saving innovations for smart homes and buildings or delivering market leading e-mobility solutions to support the transition to electric vehicles.

All of these encapsulate the spirit of ABB Electrification’s Mission to Zero; our commitment to support a zero emission future by accelerating the adoption of products, solutions and services to tackle climate change, either by enabling cleaner energy or reducing energy usage.

Brought together at our very first carbon-neutral and energy self-sufficient production site in Ludenscheid, Germany, stakeholders can find there a scalable blueprint for a sustainable future, whether looking at similar industrial locations, a complete city or at the opposite end of the spectrum an individual home.

The effort needed to comprehensively tackle climate change is mammoth. A lot needs to be done. It can be daunting, but we mustn’t be defeatist. We mustn’t give up. If we always leave it to others nothing will ever change. Addressing climate change will not take one big step, it will be a culmination of lots of individual actions around the world which can collectively make a big difference.

Every little helps.

I therefore hope that today‘s Earth Day anniversary will serve as an important reminder to us all about the positive changes we can make and help to steer us towards a greener and more sustainable path for the 2020’s and beyond.