COP 29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference is underway at Baku, Azerbaijan. While delegates of the world’s countries deliberate on measures to mitigate climate change, here in Goa the November temperature does feel a fair bit warmer than usual.
It is mid-November, but the nights and early mornings are not as cool as we were accustomed to in the past.
Goa, however, is not the only place that could be experiencing this, as reports emerge of places experiencing warmer months and years quite regularly and not a new phenomenon, either.
Climate change, therefore, is real and as per reports coming from Baku, negotiators at the summit are in agreement that trillions of dollars will be needed to help lower-income countries adapt to climate change.
Climate change, therefore, is real and as per reports coming from Baku, negotiators at the summit are in agreement that trillions of dollars will be needed to help lower-income countries adapt to climate change.
Yet, is there a simple solution? As a lay person, it would be difficult to provide solutions. But, as someone who has tracked climate change mitigation initiatives, there are numerous examples that can be found across the world, and one that caught attention comes from South America.
Medellín, a city in Colombia, may have done something that we can learn from. By planting more trees, it has made a positive difference in the city’s temperature.
Its green corridors, reports say, have brought down temperatures by about 2 degrees Celsius. The green corridors, was an attempt to connect the green spaces in the city through avenues and streets surrounded by trees and shade.
A BBC report states, ‘Sometimes referred to as the “City of Eternal Spring”, Medellín’s temperate climate has long helped attract tourists all year round, but increasing urbanisation had also exposed it to the urban heat island effect, where buildings and roads absorb and retain heat.'
The report adds, 'Its new green corridors, however, have proven remarkably effective in reversing this impact, with a 20C temperature reduction across the city.’
The report adds, 'Its new green corridors, however, have proven remarkably effective in reversing this impact, with a 20C temperature reduction across the city.’
The report goes on to state that Medellín’s green corridors programme was conceptualised due to concerns about air pollution and rising heat.
Today, the city has more than 30 green corridors – newly-greened road verges, vertical gardens, streams, parks and nearby hills.
In the initial stages, the project involved ‘planting some 1,20,000 individual plants and 12,500 trees on roads and in parks, with 2.5 million new smaller plants and 8,80,000 trees planted across the city by 2021’.
The costs of the project, of course, were high, but the results are worth the investment. ‘The temperature, here, feels enjoyable all year and noticeably fresher than other areas in the city that do not have green cover,’ states the BBC report.
The project, now known across the world, has reduced heat, promises an improved air quality and has brought back wildlife to the city.
The project won the Ashden Award in 2019 for transformative climate solutions in the ‘Cooling by Nature’ category. It has inspired other cities in South America to follow suit.
The project, now known across the world, has reduced heat, promises an improved air quality and has brought back wildlife to the city.
In Goa, currently, perhaps the opposite of what Medellín is doing is happening. Here, trees are being cut for luxury projects and for infrastructure development.
It was the same in Medellín, where trees were cut for building roads that had led to an increase in temperatures.
A simple lesson to take from here is that planting trees and plants can help reduce temperatures, so too not cutting trees will have an even better impact.
We are currently noticing, in the State capital Panjim that is, saplings being planted under the Smart City project alongside the roads.
Whether this was inspired to tackle climate change or merely to increase the number of trees in the city, we don’t know. But, can these trees make a difference to Panjim’s temperatures? If they do, can they be emulated in other parts of the State?
Of course, for these saplings in Panjim to grow, they will have to be watered regularly. They won’t grow into trees without some tending.
It appears to be a start, but it needs concerted and continuous efforts to make it progress further, and possibly more saplings planted, while simultaneously ensuring that the existing trees are not cut down.
What we learn from the Medellín project is that a little effort in keeping the temperatures steady can go a long way.
Medellín has shown it can be done in a simple way. Can we, in Goa, follow the example?