Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish girl who has been active in environmental activism since 2018. Anyone familiar with the matter knows that Greta's claims in the environmental field are extremist and therefore very difficult to apply. For example: She claims that the Paris Agreement, signed in 2016, is insufficient to stem the impact that climate change is having on the planet. For those who do not know, one of the main strategies of that agreement is the so-called plan 20, 20, 20. It involves a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and an increase in the share of renewable energy sources from 7 to 20. %, and a 20% increase in energy efficiency. Although some regions of the world are making great strides in some areas, such as Austria, where 73% of the energy consumed comes from renewable sources in general and globally, the world is a long way from that goal. The same goes for carbon dioxide emissions level and energy efficiency. With some small regions of the planet even exceeding the recommendation. But with the world remaining in general, still far below that.
But even so, the young Swedish activist says the Paris Agreement is insufficient and world leaders must do much more to improve
But what in fact would happen to the international geopolitical scenario, if all Greta claims were imposed worldwide?
First effect would be hunger. Tens or even hundreds of millions of people would die of hunger or malnutrition-related diseases, as the only way to feed a population of more than 7 billion is through extremely mechanized agriculture. And that's why it depends on fossil fuels. This food, to reach the various points of the planet, needs to be loaded on large ships. Means of transport, which, in Greta's view, are excessively polishing. Without these ships, the food produced in the so-called “granaries of the world,” such as Brazil, would cram into large warehouses and eventually spoil. Hunger would lead to riots, riots, and internal clashes, spreading chaos. The world economy, still heavily dependent on non-renewable sources of energy, would collapse. That would lead to mass unemployment, with entire sectors of industry closing their doors.
Another consequence would be war. The world, without large transport ships and little or no mechanized agriculture, countries with many arable lands, would arouse the greed of populous countries with little room for agriculture. In the 1930s, Japan, a country with very little space for agriculture, invaded and annexed large portions of China precisely because it urgently needed food and natural resources that it did not have on its own territory. Adolf Hitler, when he invaded Poland in 1939, aimed to conquer all of Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union, in search of the "Lebensraum," living space, areas that would be used to produce food to ensure survival for the German people. Situations like these could be repeated in the world of Greta. With countries invading other nations, looking for space to grow food for their people.
War could also be motivated by the imposition of these rules on nations. Imagine that some countries decide to disobey the impositions of the world of Greta, the other nations, which are strictly following the impositions, fearing the advantage that these nations would have, could start wars to compel them to obey the new ones. environmental rules. Technology as a whole would also suffer a major setback. Since, technological innovation, usually requires a large energy input. And engineering as a whole would also regress that steel production depends directly on nonrenewable sources. Greta said in its UN speech that the leaders are destroying their dreams, but if Greta's dreams come true and are imposed on the world, famine, economic disaster, war and technological setback, it would lead to a period of global chaos that could last decades, or even centuries.
The world needs to be aware of the climate, and we must urgently implement certain measures, especially those related to energy efficiency. Which leads to higher overall productivity, but it has to be done step by step, respecting technological advances and not ignited by extremist speeches. The world must evolve, but the world Greta dreamed of is a nightmare far removed from any dream.
