On Climate Crisis, Yeni Rosa Damayanti explains about Greenhouse Gas and its Effect during a webinar organized by the Women of the Earth (Perempuan Bumi). She says that greenhouse gas is often detected in livestock farms, and mushroom farms inside greenhouses. So what is greenhouse gas? Or what are greenhouse effects that lead to such gases?
Human activities also produce greenhouse gases, so what are they? For example, human activities produce carbon dioxide (CO2). People breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide (CO2). Most CO2 is generated through fossil fuel burning such as coal, oil, and gas used in factories, and human activities such as use of automobiles. In Jakarta, electricity is generated by generators that use coal. Land clearing and forest mining can also generate carbon dioxide. Fuel operation also produce gas, such as in energy transport industries.
“Cattle dungs produce methane, while fossil fuels produce carbon dioxide. Then gas chlorination from Air Conditioning and Fridge Freon also produces gas, as are rotting leaves, i.e. peat soil, also produce gas - nutrition,” explains Yeni Rosa Damayanti.
Cow dungs produce gas as modern people eat more meat such as steak or burgers, particularly in developed countries. As we look at millions of American we then trace where they get their meat from? From large-scale farms in the US and in Latin America. The cattle dungs then produce methane. So many human activities produce gas. Such gas then form on the surface of the earth which functions like a greenhouse. It works like a greenhouse. It engulfs the whole earth. Sunlight penetrating this greenhouse becomes warmer. This allows plants to grow, as cold trees would die, as happen in winter. So when the sunlight penetrates the greenhouse gases, there are two effects, and the earth temperature would be warmer, hence the global warming.
For example, how do greenhouse gases form from human activities? One source is from electricity generation using fossil fuels that produce carbon. Transport using diesel engine produces CO2, and then carbon produced in cement, steel, and chemical industry, produce oxygen and N2O, and then cattle farming produces methane.
Forest burning also produces methane, hence forest burning is a source of greenhouse gas in Indonesia. The carbon dioxide content may not be as much as in other countries, perhaps because Indonesian people do not use as many cars as in other countries, and Indonesia does not have as many factories as in other countries. Hence, it explains why the carbon production is less, but nonetheless the county still produces plenty of gas, including from Air Conditioning and hair spray.
This is often used as general term that include all greenhouse gases, as carbon emission, and not carbon emission plus methane plus others. The total is more than 80% carbon dioxide, compared to other gases, despite the fact that other gases can maintain heat longer. As most is carbon dioxide, it is then referred to as carbon emission. So when we hear carbon emission, we refer to evaporating gases. This happens for example during forest fires.
There are many greenhouse gases, not just carbon dioxide, as there are methane, N2O and other gases: carbon emission. The main source of greenhouse gases is fossil fuel. In order to reduce greenhouse gases, we must reduce production of those gases. Hence we must reduce emission, by burning fuel that produce less gases or no gases. Sustainable forest management and well-managed waste management are two examples of how to manage such endeavours.
There are too many cars in Jakarta that cause traffic congestion, and at the same time the city’s electricity is generated by coal.
What is the relation between forest logging or forest destruction with climate change? Why are trees alive? Trees are alive because they have inputs. Their roots absorb organic materials from the soil, including nitrogen. There is also fertilizer that trees can absorb. Trees then transport the organic materials to the leaves, where the photosynthesis happens.
The photosynthesis makes use of the sunlight – to turn organic materials and food and energy for the trees to grow.
In addition to sunlight, trees need require carbon - CO2 for photosynthesis, and release oxygen. Essentially, trees absorb carbon and release oxygen, while human absorbs oxygen and releases carbon. Trees absorb carbon for its photosynthesis and produce oxygen. Oxygen is release by trees during the day. One tree produces plenty of oxygen, so one can imagine how much 1,000 or a million trees can produce oxygen Nah. There are billions of trees in Kalimantan forest, in Sumatera forest, that make up the tropical forest in Indonesia, and like the Amazon, they become the lungs of the world by making oxygen available. Others may produce carbon, but these produce oxygen in abundance. The most humid forests are found in America. Tropical forests in Indonesia and the Amazon are the world’s reliable source of oxygen. Forest fires contribute to the impacts of forest destruction and to global warming, changes in flood and drought patterns, loss of biodiversity and loss of carbon absorption capacity.
This is an attempt to reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emission in order to slow down, so mitigation is a way to reduce to much gas.
“How do we replace fossil fuels with environmentally-friendly clean energy? Electricity generator in Jakarta should not use coal. Try using solar energy, or natural gas or other clean energy. WE simply reduce fossil fuel use, for example do we really need to use electricity? Many houses would not turn the lights off at night. This increases electricity needs and hence more coal needed to be burnt,” says Yeni Rosa.
She then talks about mitigation which is reducing the causes of climate change – gas production, or carbon emission, or greenhouse gas emission. Adaptation is measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Temperature is already rising, despite gas emission reduction, we still need to face the facts of life regarding drought and flood.
How to prevent flood from happening? What should we do to adjust if flood is already happening during climate change? This is adaptation.
Essentially, adaptation is how to address the impacts of climate change. Mitigation aims to reduce emission of greenhouse gas so that we, humans, can adapt to global warming. The objective of adaptation is to reduce vulnerability and loss resulting from climate impacts. Mitigation focuses on addressing the cause. For example, to address the cause of climate change we use of public transport, and not private cars, use energy more efficiently, no logging, and manage waste in order to prevent methane gas emission. And what should we do if things already happen? The flood impacts in East Nusa Tenggara provides an example. Climate change leads to Seroja storm - that is what meteorologists say. So if flood is already happening, evacuation system must be done to its maximum and not to leave people with disability behind. For example if mitigation has long-term effects – i.e. transform fuel, transform electricity in Jakarta from coal-based to clean energy. The impacts may not be visible in day one. It is long-term.
It is obligatory to use clean energy or renewable energy in order to make efficient use of energy. Renewable energy is infinite. Fossil fuel, which results from millions of years of plant fossil transformation processes, will be exhausted – hence the name non-renewable energy. Then there is waste and emission management through waste towers, and the use of environmentally-firnedly materials and clean production processes.
With regards to resilience, we often hear about adaptation and mitigation, which refer to individual or community or system or State ability to adapt and recover from the impacts of climate change, both in short- and long-term. Resilience is not just about surviving in hot weather, drought, and flood, and so on, but also about recovery in better shape. So impacts such as flood, drought, heat wave, typhoons may not be avoidable. So how do we face them with resilience?
The question is whether resilience important? Climate change is unavoidable. Communities not only survive, but also function and develop after disasters. After flood, there is development, the communities, their system, then their economy must be built, the infrastructure must also be built better, to ensure that communities functions after disasters.
Climate resilience include capacity to anticipate disasters. Low resilience means inability to anticipate disasters. Once disaster comes, people start to become panicky. If people can anticipate climate-related disasters, what happens then, for example, during drought? Then, what about evacuation planning for flood, what would that be? Then the capacity to deal with disasters, such as logistics, (first) aid, protection for vulnerable people, and capacity to recover and to adapt after disaster, and how to build better?
In practice, resilience may be evident in infrastructure – by building drainage embankment, and earthquake buildings. Houses in Mentawai do not collapsed so easily, despite destruction in Padang. Traditional houses are designed in such a way that they are earthquake resistant, and then the next issues would be economic and livelihood resilience – i.e. income diversification.
One thing to remember is that people with disability are vulnerable? They are more vulnerable not only during disasters where they face more difficulty and loss of livelihood, but also after disasters where they may find it extra difficult to find employment. That is the point of difference with people without disability. People with disability are more vulnerable not only during disasters, but also socially and communally more vulnerable. Strong social networks may help during disasters, by involving vulnerable groups such as people with disability in disaster planning.
"To increase resilience, people can protect the forests, and make sure that there is no erosion, or logging. So adaptation means measures to adjust in order to minimize impacts. Resilience is the ability to survive, to adapt and to recover from impacts, and to make us stronger,' says Yeni. (Ast)
