Palm Beach reacts to new funds to mitigate climate change
By Samantha Sheradsky
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — With the discussion of the COP27 conference, Palm Beach is reacting to the “loss and found” fund and how it will aid global warming in South Florida.
The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) took place from Nov. 6–18 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. This was the 27th climate change conference where governments examined policies that would help control the rise of global warming. It was hosted by Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the President of Egypt.
There was a discussion during the conference to create and manage a “loss and damage” fund for countries that are being negatively impacted by climate change. UN Secretary-General António Guterres brought attention to this issue, suggesting that the fund would provide the support needed to help decrease climate change emissions.
“The world still needs a giant leap on climate ambition,” Guterres said.
When COP27 officially ended on Nov. 20, the fund was approved. This resulted in a package of decisions that would be sent out to countries that would limit the rise of the temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It would be used to reduce any greenhouse gas releases and enhance the financial issues and technology necessary for developing countries.
Palm Beach County has been heavily impacted by global warming, especially when it comes to being close to the water. Its citizens have been active in bringing more attention and action to the different issues related to global warming.
Leonard Berry, 92, is a former director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University and the coordinator of the Climate Change Initiative. He has studied geomorphology, wetland ecosystems, and the adaptation to climate change.
Berry began experiencing the effects of climate change when he spent 12 years in Africa. When he came to the U.S., he became the director of the Florida Center of Environmental Studies at FAU and worked there from 1994 to 2014.
When Berry taught the effects of climate change to his students, he wanted them to develop awareness regarding the consequences that are currently affecting the environment. He states that climate change is changing more rapidly than it has in the past.
“When people understand that this is a current thing, then it’s easier for them to predict into the future and understand that we’re not in the stable world,” Berry said.
He explains that Palm Beach is part of the “warming world” and that the impacts are not just local but are part of a global pattern of warming ocean temperatures and melting ice sheets and glaciers. The oceans are getting warmer and larger, which creates large storms, such as Hurricane Ian. He also states that the intensity of rainfall is growing because the atmosphere absorbs most of the moisture and then spills it out.
“These things are not separate; they are linked together,” Berry said.
With the COP27 conference, Berry believes that the UN members are making some of the right choices when handling the effects of global warming. In 2021, the conference was held in Glasgow, Scotland where there was a discussion about the increase of carbon dioxide and other gases in the air. This causes a change in the pattern of the heating within the lower atmosphere.
“One of the big goals of all of these conferences is to keep the amount of polluting gases in the atmosphere from increasing as quickly as it is now,” Berry said.
With the recent meeting in Egypt, Berry commented that they created a mechanism in which some redistribution of resources is made for the polluting countries, such as the U.S., China, and Europe, that are being affected.
“They’re responsible for helping African and small island countries who are getting the impact of global warming, but they didn’t cause it,” Berry said.
Gonzalo Castillo, 27, is an intern at Palm Beach County’s Office of Resilience (OOR) and has been studying the impacts of climate change on the demographic. OOR is committed to keeping Palm Beach safe and environmentally healthy as they face different challenges. They protect the community’s citizens, businesses, and agriculture from intense floods, storms, and the rising of sea levels.
Castillo states that rising water levels have become a critical issue within Palm Beach. It could possibly harm residents who have their houses situated close to the water.
“We’re in a coastal area where the elevation is very low to the sea level. Flooding and stormwater surges are critical issues that do not only affect residents, but also infrastructure,” Castillo said.
Castillo shows that the warming of the general atmosphere has caused more hurricanes within Florida than ever before. Hurricane Ian hit Fort Myers in late September as a Category 4 storm and caused severe damage. In early November, Hurricane Nicole hit Vero Beach as a Category 1 storm.
“The temperatures of water are getting higher, and it develops into hurricanes, which before the span of that was shorter but now it’s getting more widespread through time,” Castillo said.
When it comes to the COP27 conference, Castillo believes that this profound issue cannot be faced by one group.
“We tried to work towards them, but it doesn’t depend on one action, and it depends on the conjunction of collective action. We’re trying to aim to make the right choices, but it’s much more complex than that,” Castillo said.
Penelope (Penni) Redford is West Palm Beach’s Resilience & Climate Change Manager and has been working in that position since 2008. She has worked with Congressman Luis Frankel to create the Office of Sustainability.
Since then, Redford has experienced the impacts when it comes to the harsh impacts of climate change. Redford has seen the shifting of precipitation and the increase of temperature within this past year. She also is concerned with the health factors of people who are of low income and how they are affected by these environmental issues.
“You look at some of the targeted populations or special populations that have people with lower income, and they are being affected even more,” Redford said.
She and her team have produced many projects and programs within West Palm Beach over the past couple of years to diminish climate change. In 2015, the Office of Sustainability started a 10,000-tree program where their goal is to plant 10,000 trees by 2025. It is a belief that this program will help with the usage of stormwater retention, carbon sequestration, and the heat island effect.
Redford is also currently a part of the Home Improvement Program. This program targets low-income families in West Palm Beach that are in need of assistance with tightening up their home weatherization and looking at energy and water efficiency.
The Office of Sustainability invites these citizens to save up on home energy by supplying them with 12 LED light bulbs, showerheads, weather stripping, etc. As a result of the families installing and utilizing these devices, they will begin to save their energy and water use.
“The hotter it gets, the longer you’re using your air conditioning and you can’t live in South Florida without air conditioning,” Redford said.
She believes that the COP27 fund is not going to directly affect the U.S. because it primarily applies to countries that have been heavily impacted by climate change. Redford states that it is a good fund, but that the U.S. is already “on the road” to net zero.
“We have net zero 2050 commitment. We’ve had that as a goal for about more than five years and then we also joined the UN’s Race to Zero Campaign so we’re already striving for those things,” Redford said.
However, she is hopeful for the future when it comes to climate control and for the next generation to make the necessary adjustments in their daily lives.
“There are just some real things that are happening, but I’m hopeful that we can make some changes. We just have to all start acting a little more responsibly than we have,” Redford said.
