As poor countries to face disproportionately high impacts of climate change, it would be grossly unfair to blame all of humanity for the Anthropocene
Crawford lake in Canada was dug up to produce the geologic evidence for staking claim on the Anthropocene as a new epoch. Photo: iStock I exaggerate, of course. The Anthropocene was the battle cry of many climate scientists and ecologists, denoting the era of human influence on the planet. The demand has been that human impacts have become so ubiquitous that the current era deserves to be cemented as a new geological epoch.
The rapid ramping up of human activities was argued to have begun in 1950 and a lake in Canada was dug up to produce the geologic evidence for staking claim on the Anthropocene as a new epoch.
But alas, the geological authority, a 12-member subcommittee on quaternary stratigraphy (SQS) rejected the push to make the Anthropocene an officially new epoch. The evidence produced from the lake and the widespread fingerprints of human impacts on all components of the geosphere and the biosphere do not yet add up to scientific evidence for a new epoch.
Read more: The Anthropocene is not an epoch − but the age of humans is most definitely underway
Robust science has prevailed and we should be thankful for that. No matter how emotional and evocative the descriptor Anthropocene is, we cannot name it an epoch unless the scientific methodology of naming geologic time zones is not violated.
Will anything be lost as a result of this denial, despite the fact that Anthropocene remains popular in scientific literature? But first, we should ask if Anthropocene is even an accurate name for the age we are in.
Is Anthropocene really an accurate description for what is happening?
The idea of the Anthropocene was coined by the chemistry Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen in 2000 and his argument was that the age of humans had in fact begun in the latter part of the 19th century itself. The catchy word has taken root as a scientifically accepted term for the modern era without the official blessing of the SQS or a definite start date.
In the meantime, climate change impacts continue to get worse even as climate negotiations and various climate actions try to keep pace with it.
It is clear that we are now a major force to reckon with as far as the functioning of the earth system is concerned and one can easily argue that we are indeed in the Anthropocene.
Read more: World past Holocene Epoch; Anthropocene began in 1950, say scientists
But one can hardly ignore the fact that the emission levels we have reached now, especially the accumulated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, are mostly due to the rich and industrialised countries.
The contributions from the low- and middle-income countries remain relatively small. These countries, however, continue to face disproportionately high impacts of climate change.
It would be grossly unfair to blame all of humanity for the Anthropocene. That itself should be a reason to breathe a sigh of relief that the Anthropocene was not recognised as a new geologic epoch. Not yet, anyway.
Blaming them for their own wounds would be just rubbing salt into the wounds perpetrated upon them by the rich countries.
It is for all to see that the negotiations and deployment of renewables continue relentlessly. Electric vehicles, various green technologies and energy efficient appliances, vehicles and buildings continue to increase in numbers as well.
Read more: It is time to own up: Why ‘Anthropocene’ should matter
Greenhouse gas emissions, however, refuse to slow down, let alone show signs of a decrease. Climate extremes are everywhere we look. The past year has been a poster child for the havoc climate change can wreak across the globe.
The inability to predict most of these skilfully leaves the climate community exasperated but they turn that frustration into a cry about the lack of climate action. As if climate predictions are not the most important part of climate action.
It is expected that economic development will remain the top priority for all countries. The global community is as earnest as possible about climate action as enshrined in the global Paris Agreement and the various regional and local efforts at international, national and subnational levels.
Any obstacle, such as COVID-19 or armed conflicts, hampers the noble climate action goals. Economic development always takes precedence. The emissions reduction approach to managing climate risks appears to be deeply flawed. Considering that the system is still deeply entrenched in fossil fuel-based energy systems, it is just a fantasy at this point in time to imagine weaning ourselves away from this dependence anytime soon. Will a new paradigm help?
The 1.5°C and 2°C global warming targets are most likely to be exceeded. The obsessive focus that these targets bring to climate mitigation is actually a distraction from the real goal that we need to pursue — we are actually facing a sustainability challenge.
Even as the negotiations, innovations, mitigation actions and such continue, the focus can be turned away from the meaningless and non-scientific global warming targets.
Read more: When did the Anthropocene begin on Earth?
The real challenge we face is to accept that we are very unlikely to climb down from the energy intensity of our everyday lives. If anything, the economic growth of developing countries such as the BRICS, will only add more and more people to higher and higher energy lifestyles.
Nobody can justifiably deny the developing countries their right to a good standard of living and quality of life. No fancy footwork about a quality of life that is low in energy will work unless we define our main goal as a pathway to sustainable development for all.
Such a pathway will not be easy since the future continues to be uncertain and risks continue to evolve and get worse. But we have no option if we want to leave a safe and sustainable planet for posterity.
Sustainability is not a global beast like mitigation. Sustainability will happen at local levels and it will happen in each sector — energy, water, food, transportation, health, buildings and so on. Existing technologies in each sector give us a good start if we reduce demand and waste, recycle, reuse and become more efficient.
The risks from climate change and geopolitical and socioeconomic perturbations will keep dragging us away from the sustainability track. But all our new innovations must build the abilities to manage these risks and guide us back to the sustainability pathway. This is often referred to as resilience.
Read more: Sixth mass extinction will be worse than previously thought, say scientists
Resilience is not just the ability of the systems to recover from perturbations such as climate impacts and return to functionality. But it is also the ability to return to improved functionality to thrive towards sustainability in each sector.
Humanity will be only as resilient as the weakest community across the globe. Equality is thus an integral design parameter for the sustainability pathway. Every individual, every community, every state and global humanity must stay on this thrilling and optimistic hike along this pathway.
Anthropocene is the age of the humans. Now it carries a deep negative connotation and blames even the innocent ones for all the harm we are doing to the planet and the other species and to each other. But this need not be the case forever.
Humans evolved from hunter-gatherers into agriculturalists and then into technologists and innovators. The next step in this natural progression is for us to become the ‘Sustainables’. The Anthropocene can transition into an era of global sustainability and equality.
Read more: Sixth mass extinction will be worse than previously thought, say scientists
This is much more of an optimistic vision and a realisable goal compared to the global warming targets, which were dreamt up and set up to fail. The sustainability goal will not have the option of failure.
Humanity is ready for its next phase of evolution. We are ready for the sustainability challenge. We will be the Sustainables. The Anthropocene will live long and emerge as a positive symbol of the human urge to innovate and create a better life with each generation. Without harming the planet this time.
Raghu Murtugudde is Professor of Climate Studies at IIT Bombay and Emeritus Professor at UMD.
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
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