How climate change is connected to recent floods and other disasters

I recently travelled out of the country and one way we usually keep up with news back home is updates on social media. One concerning update was videos and images of Accra washed with floods. If you live in the capital, you know this isn’t new but with each passing year, the degree and consequences seem to be more dire. If you are plugged into environmental issues, you will make that easy connection between the rising flood levels and climate change.

According to the UN, climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

For the uninitiated, however, the connection between floods, natural disasters and climate change isn’t immediate. If you seek to understand, take a seat and spare the next 3-5 mins as I share my thoughts.

Disruption of the Natural Cycle

A very long time ago, despite natural fluctuations in the climate, the earth had its natural cycle of keeping the cold and hot temperatures balanced and comfortable to live in. Light from the sun passes through the atmosphere and is absorbed by the Earth’s surface, warming it. At night the cool temperature ensures that heat is emitted from the surface of the earth.

These heat emissions are however trapped by certain gasses like carbon dioxide, which act like a blanket to prevent complete evaporation of heat, thereby raising the earth’s temperature. This natural process warms both the lower atmosphere and the surface of the planet and without this effect; the earth would be about 30C colder and hostile to life. This is how it worked until the industrial revolution interrupted the natural cycle mainly through human activities.

Human activities in the form of deforestation to make way for cities and farms, industrial innovations, like the widespread use of electricity and transportation (cars, trucks and planes), transformed the way we live. These innovations demanded energy which was created by burning fossil fuels — coal, oil, and natural gas.

Burning of fossil fuels, however, releases more carbon dioxide than required in the normal cycle; hence these excess CO2s only further heat the earth and raise the temperature beyond the required safe levels. This is what is known as climate change or global warming, with carbon dioxide emissions a major contributory factor.

So, without even being conscious, many of our daily activities increase our carbon footprint. From the moment you wake up and step into a hot bath (increased energy from boiler) to stepping into your car to travel to work alone by yourself in the car, as opposed to carpooling or using public transportation, have steak for lunch with a fruit juice imported via plane, to the time your grab some groceries packed in a plastic bag on your way home, you have in one single day contributed to increased CO2 emissions.

Even the buildings we live in account for more than 40% of the world’s total primary energy consumption and 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Indeed, the effects of climate change are dire- longer, more intense allergy seasons; foods you love are becoming less nutritious and cost more at the grocery store; more common, more severe, and more long-lasting heat waves; wildfires causing damage to our landscapes and our communities – as well as our health and diseases, are spreading more easily.

With rising temperatures comes the increased likelihood of rains and flooding. With higher temperatures, we have more energy in the earth’s system. Higher ocean water and air temperatures increase the possibility for evaporation and therefore cloud formation. At higher temperatures, the air can hold more moisture content and can lead to an increase in precipitation.

How buildings contribute to climate change

One of the key interventions to combat climate change is through buildings. Buildings are a good thing, they provide us with shelter and safe places to live, work and entertain ourselves. As indicated earlier, however, buildings are major contributors to climate change.

Concrete is one of the major elements used in the construction of buildings. To understand why concrete and other building materials and technology impacts negatively on the environment, we need to just take a second to review the concrete production cycle. Concrete is a composition of sand, gravel or stones and water mixed with a binder, usually cement.

Now the problem here is that production of these building blocks, especially cement contributes to carbon dioxide or CO2 emissions that contribute to rising temperatures and excessive heat in our climate.

To put the destructive nature of concrete and cement into perspective, consider these numbers. Concrete is said to be responsible for 4-8% of the world’s CO2 or greenhouse gas emissions. Half of these emissions are created during the manufacture of clinker, the most energy-intensive part of the cement-making process.

Concrete production sucks up almost a 10th of the world’s industrial water use thereby a big strain on our water bodies. When also used to pave our surroundings, it prevents the surface of the earth that would hitherto have been natural earth or a green landscape, act as a “sponge” and soak up water freely, thereby causing unnecessary floods and disasters.

If you live in Accra, you can bear testimony to how easily it floods these days, all at the mercy of so-called “modernity”. The sand used is so significant that its extraction is causing gaping holes in our environment. The dust from production and mixers contributes as much as 10% of the coarse particulate matter that together with the transportation of materials between these productions and building sites contributes to respiratory disease.

How building rights can combat climate change

It will interest you to know that by merely putting up buildings or with increased construction activity, buildings alone around the world account for more than 40 percent of energy use and almost a third of greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations Environment Programme projects that if we continue with business as usual in the building sector, these emissions will more than double by 2030.

The need to use alternative materials in construction as well as ensure green building practices has never been more important. Recommended materials like earth, bricks, bamboo, straw, and certain types of glass are on the rise. These materials trap less heat and hence decrease your usage of ACs, fans etc. thereby cutting down on your utility bills. Window placement in relation to the angle of the sun can affect the energy efficiency of a building as well as heating and cooling costs.

Most people spend 90 percent of their time indoors hence, lighting is critical. Daylight should be allowed to come into the building as much as possible and in this regard, skylights are encouraged to be incorporated into the design. Buildings with roofing and insulation that also ward off heat and rather maintain a cool interior are considered green.

It is also estimated that globally, buildings use 13.6 percent of all potable water, so reducing water consumption with ultra-low flush toilets and low-flow faucets are all key aspects in establishing a green building and reducing carbon footprints