On the occasion of World Environment Day, we spoke with Mariano Baratech, producer of the documentary series Hope! There Is Still Time, about the main signals the planet is sending us, the challenges posed by climate change and the actions that can help us build a more sustainable future.

What signals is the planet sending us, and what actions can help us protect the environment and slow climate change?

Climate change is already a reality across the planet, and its impact is becoming increasingly clear. This is not only because of rising temperatures, which are reaching record highs year after year, but also because of the consequences of those increases: droughts, floods, wildfires, desertification, and so on.

This issue requires clear and urgent action, both to halt the rise in temperatures and to adapt to the new conditions. Stopping the rise in temperatures means eliminating fossil fuels and electrifying energy production, transport and industry, as well as developing regenerative agriculture and livestock farming.

Adapting to the new conditions requires us to renovate our homes and leisure and work spaces to make them more energy efficient, renaturalise our cities and reforest our countryside.

What opportunities does innovation offer to protect the planet?

In recent years, there have been very rapid innovations and improvements in solutions to reverse climate change. In energy, the reduction in the cost of photovoltaics, and of batteries to store this energy, has been remarkable.

In transport, it is not only about electric cars; electric lorries and ships are also developing rapidly, as are new, lower-emission fuels for aviation. The same is happening in industries such as cement, where emissions are beginning to be significantly reduced, and in alternatives to plastic products, such as algae-based materials.

Passivhaus buildings are becoming increasingly common in new projects, and regenerative agriculture is already a reality for many farms.

What changes can make a difference for future generations?

The major change now required is to accelerate the implementation of solutions that already exist, and which we did not have ten years ago. We need to mobilise society as a whole around this change.

Individuals, companies, public authorities and organised civil society must work in a coordinated and aligned way on this major transformation project to build a better society on a sustainable planet.

How can we transform environmental challenges into solutions for a better future?

This change requires a just transition, ensuring that no one is left behind: not individuals, groups, regions or countries.

It is a deep and rapid transformation, and doing it well requires planning, coordination and efficiency, but also a great deal of generosity and solidarity, overcoming the individualistic and exclusionary currents that, unfortunately, have been gaining strength recently.

Humanity has progressed through cooperation, and the current global challenge cannot be solved in any other way.

Mariano Baratech

Director of HOPE! There Is Still Time