The Paris Agreement came into force on 4 November 2016, after being ratified by fifty-five states representing fifty-five per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, to address the urgency of climate warming. Scientists continue to warn about the catastrophic consequences of climate disruptions, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and the loss of biodiversity.
The Paris Agreement aims to unite international efforts to limit the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and thus keep the average temperature rise to one-and-a-half degrees, relative to pre-industrial levels. Although each country has its own strategy, the Agreement aims to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that, by the second half of the twenty-first century, remaining emissions can be naturally or artificially reabsorbed. This is the “net-zero emissions” scenario.
It must be acknowledged that not all countries are meeting their commitments – in terms both of emission trajectories, and financing emerging economies, which are the most vulnerable – to prepare for the consequences of climate disruptions. These commitments rely not only on existing industrial solutions but also on emerging technologies such as carbon capture, nuclear fusion, e-fuels, and solar energy in interstellar space.
Even while the situation can be discouraging, it is nonetheless important to stay the course and rise to this planetary challenge in every possible way. This is what some designers are already doing: through planning cities populated with algae and cyanobacteria, the orientation of homes, the quality of solar reflections, or even subtraction, designers are exploring the material, experiential and emotional possibilities of an expanded transition.
