Global warming at the heart of COP21

Stop water when washing your teeth, sorting waste ... if all these everyday reflexes have an impact on our environment, they are no longer sufficient to preserve the climate. A few days from COP21 , the UN climate conference in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015, all climate experts, spiritual authorities from around the world, and politicians are working on solutions that will allow us to limit global warming to 2 ° C.

In fact, we know that if we continue to live in exactly the same way, we move towards the horizon 2100 towards a rise in temperatures of about 4 ° C. A rise sufficient to completely change the world in which we live: the oceans are already more acidic than before, their level is rising, the pack ice melts, the insect species capable of transmitting diseases migrate all over the place ....

What are we doing to fight global warming?

What to do ? Policy decisions will be taken at COP21. On a daily basis, we can also act, as Nicolas Hulot , ex-animator of the TV show Ushuaia on TF1 and today special envoy for the President of the Republic on climate, who launched a petition with more than 600,000 signatures ( To sign the petition of Nicolas Hulot ). In his book "Osons" (eds.), He lists 10 commitments that can be taken individually to combat global warming.

1 - Move with several or without motor. Basically, long live carpooling or public transport. In big cities, owning a car and not inviting anyone to it becomes a luxury that can not be afforded any more: transport is responsible for 14% of greenhouse gas emissions.

2 - Think twice before flying. We suspect that the fuel used in air transport does not help the climate. So train or plane? It is better to opt for the train when possible.

3 - Eat less meat ... but better quality. The question is timely. Since the WHO recalled that excess meat and deli meats were carcinogenic. The relationship with climate: agriculture, whose livestock contributes 14% to the emission of greenhouse gases. As far as cattle raising is concerned, it is known that cattle emit methane (via their farms), one of the greenhouse gases that must be reduced.

4 - Stop food waste . Simply because waste management is energy-intensive, therefore a source of greenhouse gas emissions .

5 - Put his money to the green. It is not always known: many banks (BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole ...) support fossil fuels. By changing banks, we are showing our support for those that have less impact on the planet. To see the list of green banks, see the Friends of the Earth and Oxfam study here .

6 - Choose a 100% renewable electricity . Yes, there are "clean" energy suppliers. This is the case, for example, with Enercoop recommended by associations that defend the environment and fight against global warming.

7 - Acting against energy waste. No comment: we stop leaving the lights on in a room when we are not there, we turn off the water faucet when we brush our teeth, we take a shower rather than a bath ... these are the "eco-gestures" that we know for about ten years.

8 - Acting for nature. Now is the time to engage with the associations that fight to defend the environment. To find yours, it's here .

9 - Share. The economy of sharing is the new thing. We exchange goods, services ... Useless to possess everything. It is the revival of barter.

10 - Activate and get involved for the climate. As COP21 approaches, we can find out about the different sites that inform about global warming.