Some of the meteorological phenomena experienced in Catalonia at the end of August and beginning of September, such as the intense hailstorms, which have even caused one death, are typical of a tropical climate and require more knowledge to be able to respond to what is happening.
“Climate change kills.” The summer began with the President of the Spanish Government Pedro Sánchez making this statement in response to the serious fires that were being experienced, with loss of life included. It is a historical fact. For the first time, the effects of a reality that still does not seem to be assumed are established publicly and with all possible loudspeakers. The summer that is ending will be marked by many people as one of the hottest they have ever lived and palpable evidence of the consequences of the climate emergency that we are experiencing.
It was also stated, and it went viral, that this summer, which seems so hot to us, would be the coolest of those to come. A play on words to draw our attention to the seriousness of the situation in which we find ourselves. We cannot know if this will be the case, but we do know that the climate is changing. We do not know if this summer will be the coolest of those to come, but there is sufficient evidence to affirm that we are experiencing an increase in temperatures, extreme weather events, fires of greater intensity… An alarming set of phenomena with serious consequences. We do know that we are not doing what is necessary to mitigate, slow down and reverse climate change. For example, we are not curbing emissions that cause global warming.
The Day of Eleventh of September last year was marked by the debate on the extension of the El Prat airport. A socio-environmental debate slipped into the national debate. A debate that led to certain changes in the trench policy of recent years. In the Diada of this edition the trenches of the national debate are also in recomposition, the confrontation between pro-independence sectors is intensifying. We could write an article with the metaphor of climate change applied to the climate among pro-independence sectors… But everything deserves your attention. We should be aware of the discussions that we are not having and that are of great importance and urgency.
At the beginning of the summer, Barcelona City Council announced the constitution of the Citizen Assembly for Climate, a deliberative process that will incorporate a hundred people chosen by lottery to debate the climate emergency situation in the city and specify actions and solutions. What importance are we going to give to this initiative and others in this direction? The new political course begins, it remains to be seen if we can achieve the urgent debates and solutions that we need in different areas. For too many years we have been passing the course without passing it.
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