Ambitious mitigation actions to limit global warming to 1.5 C, according to October 2019 IPCC report is to focus on ‘climate-resilient development pathways’ which aim to meet the goals of sustainable development, including climate adaptation and mitigation, poverty eradication and reducing inequalities”” The report further highlights that “ there is no single answer to the question of whether it is feasible to limit warming to 1.5 C and adapt to the consequences”. Thus there are so many highly sounding jargon phrases and words engulf the entire report.
To add another jargon to this is the “energy-water-food nexus”. Unlike others, here there is no hidden meaning, political web, intergovernmental feuds and best governance. Countries are going to face acute food and water crisis soon and the most affected are the Gulf countries and Sub-Saharan countries. Those countries rich in oil resources burn is extensively to generate fresh water to sustain the growing demand for food and those oil impoverished countries depend extensively on VWT (Virtual Water Trade) to support food demand. These two processes going to influence the global warming to a large extent. IPCC should focus on this crucial aspect and impress on the governments to find out methods to increase fresh water production without using fossil fuels. Apart from power production, generation of freshwater using fossil fuels releases enormous amount of carbon dioxide. Now it becomes a full circle…..to generate freshwater renewables are the first and the best option but all renewables are not alike. The world is obsessed with solar pv. Certainly this is one of the options where ever it is cost effective and does not occupy productive land resources. There is an equal and most suitable option that is not being discussed or highlighted in most of the reports. Like Sun Earth has enormous amount of heat that is lying untapped. When one talks about geothermal people think of hydrothermal resources and forget the amount of energy one can extract from granites. Land requirement, performance, efficiency and supply of base-load electricity supply…..these factors inherent in EGS can out beat any of the renewables. No lithium batteries, no storage systems, no subsidies and no supporting ancillary industries needed for EGS. Now with plasma drilling technology maturing, tapping Earth’s heat is easy and is available at every ones back-yard. Governments, if serious about reducing CO2 emissions to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 C, then a concentrated effort to promote renewables is a must. Even though this is not the mandate of IPCC yet a separate chapter or a session with CoP can be held as a side conference to emphasise and thrust the development of EGS in all the countries. There have been IPCC report and reports and CoPs. All the efforts however could not stop the global warming…it is rising day by day and year by year and affecting the poverty ridden countries. Will such meeting and reports continue to fill the libraries and offices or will there be concrete steps to really control the temperature phenomena is poorly understood.