Climate change is an increasingly less debated and central issue in the public debate, despite the fact that it is an issue of enormous relevance for the future of the human race. Today, the EU emits 7-8% of Co2 emissions, the US 16% and China 33%. The West, thanks to decades of technological innovation, has drastically reduced its Co2 emissions, today accounting for less than 1/3 of the total. China, on the other hand, is expected to peak its emissions within 10 years and then decline. The global south, the one populated by billions of Indians, Pakistanis, Indonesians, Nigerians, Congolese, etc., is now worth more than 1/3 of global CO2 emissions, with a rapidly growing trend, given that gas, coal, and oil are and will continue to be necessary for a long time to industrialise, to improve the social conditions of billions of people, from the wealth-producing industries to access to the electricity grid, and everything else that makes our daily lives easier.

The ecological transition is difficult to implement for a rich and populous continent like Europe, let alone for billions of people with quite different socio-economic priorities, with quite different purchasing power, and with quite different population numbers. A nuclear power plant costs an average of 10 to 20 billion euros, has a long construction time and is difficult to mass-produce globally. All this with a time horizon of 3/4 of a century, within which the effects of climate change, as we are already seeing today, will evolve and worsen. This scenario is catastrophic, let’s face it. The idea of making the ecological transition in the West to make it economically viable even for those with other priorities seems to have failed, Trump is completely disinterested, and the timing, priorities and wills seem to be going in a completely different direction.

So how can climate change be tackled concretely? The brutal truth is that only research, in parallel with adaptation as far as possible, can save the livability of the human race on planet Earth. Certain statements by Elon Musk on space colonisation are not made by chance. They are the result of an awareness of the times ahead, three quarters of a century, or 75 years is nothing. Research is the only tool that can create solutions. We must focus on advanced technologies such as geoengineering, CO₂ capture and storage, and new forms of energy production. Some projects are already under development, but we need a global commitment, massive investment and the awareness that without a radical technological leap, the livability of our planet will be compromised.

Time is running out, and relying on old strategies will not work. Research is our only chance.