The Valencian environmentalist and climate heavy -as he describes himself-, Andreu Escrivà, has just published Emergència Climàtica (Joker) a manual designed for ESO and Baccalaureate students -who will be the most affected in the future by this phenomenon-, but also for any curious person who wants to know and understand this global threat that will change and is already changing our way of life.
Escrivà attends La Vanguardia after a torrid night in Valencia – and we are already at a record number this summer, he points out – where he has barely been able to fall asleep. Thus, he denounces it on that social network that changes from a bird to X and that he uses to disseminate scientific information but also to dismantle hoaxes and clarify concepts.
“We think that climate change is a phenomenon that affects the poles and the polar bear, but we, with a Mediterranean that sets temperature records, have us in the front row. People die from heat, directly and indirectly, day by day." “The spectacular thing this year is the nights. In summer it has always been hot, although it was somewhat more bearable because at night you had a breather; even people went out into the fresh air”. Now, explains this scientific popularizer, "we are in one of the queen stages of the Tour where there is not even a break." And he warns: "This continued stress, subjecting our body to that heat, has effects on health."
For this reason, before those who try to frame the climate emergency as something distant, Escrivà insists on linking it to health, our work performance and even our state of mind and mental health: “It is making our lives worse”.
Faced with this situation, he calls for adapting our cities and towns to the new reality. He takes up the idea of the sociologist and essayist César Rendueles and points out that "experiments or pilot tests are fine" and calls for "activating a climate war plan against heat now." No longer with the purpose of saving the planet but so that "the elderly do not die, adults can work in minimal safety conditions and children can play in the park."
And how to do it? The author exemplifies this with the image that many of us have seen these days in towns and cities, where people crowd into a small piece of shadow waiting for a green traffic light to turn. Escrivà claims to "remove as much asphalt as possible; plant trees and adapt surfaces with materials that repel radiation; provide sources and climate shelters." This graduate in Environmental Sciences and doctor in Biodiversity from the University of Valencia is clear about it: “We live in fossil cities, designed for a climate that does not exist. We have little time and we have to adapt them to the reality that will come in the coming years”.
For this reason, he demands this war in the sense that the ruling class and the population, as happens when there is a war phenomenon, understand the importance of the commitment that must be acquired, the investments that must be made and even the sacrifices that may have to be made. .
And the consequences are noticeable and will be noticed. Explain the example of tourism. “We have to be aware that when people take a trip they don't want to suffer. And now there are people who come to the Mediterranean and who suffer because they bathe in a sea that does not cool down or because the tiger mosquito returns. He does not mean by this that action must be taken to save the golden goose of the Valencian economy - "it must be done for our climatic comfort" - but he understands that with these arguments some more reluctant may join the bandwagon for their own economic interest. .
As various studies point out, in the coming years there may be a tilting of the traditional sun and beach to the north in summer, while other areas of Europe, climatically more desirable, "will gain tourist attraction".
For this reason, he believes that the sector must also be involved in this necessary transformation. In this sense, he believes that the decision of the new government of the PP and Vox to eliminate the tourist tax is "a monumental error" because "the legitimate thing is that part of this adaptation comes from those who are going to take advantage of it (tourists); It is a question of dignity and economic rationality”.
Escrivà is not very hopeful with the line of the new executive due to the presence in it of climate change deniers. "It worries me because that position is legitimized and people who were ashamed see themselves represented." In this line he shows his fear because there is a legislative involution: "It is not necessary to repeal regulations, they can be economically emptied." With everything, he believes that although steps can be taken backwards, fortunately, "Europe will be vigilant", as he considers that the citizens should be, who "must demand that action be taken, since to stop acting is to act against it".
Precisely, one of the issues that the new book (the fourth published) addresses is the dialectical battle against the deniers. In Climate Emergency, Escrivà distinguishes between the uninformed denier – the one who asks legitimate questions, who needs environmental education and to have the data explained to them without being treated as ignorant – and the denier who has political, media or economic interest in its positioning. He stands up to these: “You have to be clear. They do not deny climate change, they deny science and proudly display their ignorance while they boast of threatening everyone's health. For this reason, aware of the importance of semantics, he bets on calling them directly "science denialists".
In the book he also talks about the most widespread myths about climate change. Given that it is impossible to deny the rise in temperatures, explains the author, the discourse is changing to point out that the culprits of this phenomenon are not human beings; an excuse not to act. Escrivà refutes it, "100% of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming are caused by people." And they are clear about it: "There is the absolute certainty that responsibility is human and, even if it were not our responsibility, we should act for our own good."
It also denies that not everything that surrounds us is climate change, although it does, in a certain way, affect everything that surrounds us. “We have a cold drop and we think about climate change. It does cause meteorological phenomena to be more extreme and frequent, but to assess the consequences of strong damage, other variables must also be taken into account, such as land use occupation and urban planning. Nor is the loss of biodiversity explained by climate change alone; pollution or habitat destruction (both caused by humans) are also behind it.
Despite this situation, Escrivà does not want to lose his optimism despite being aware that "many sacrifices must be made to live worse than now, but better than it could be if nothing is done." He is committed to making a cultural transformation and changing priorities, "I am not resigned to the fact that Valencia cannot be lived in 30-40 years from now." He explains that there are things that we will no longer be able to throw back, such as the rise in the temperature of the planet, but he does not resign himself to sitting idle and believes that "yes, action can be taken to avoid a lot of suffering for many people, also at home" .
