By Marco Petrone, Vice President & Corporate Development Manager VIASAT GROUP
Let’s start with a clear and simple premise: there is no question that the Earth’s climate is changing. Scientific evidence is unequivocal. During the last century, global temperatures have risen, glaciers and ice sheets have decreased in mass, the oceans are warming and increasing their level, many areas are vulnerable to desertification and extreme events, such as intense rainfall caused by higher evaporation rates in the oceans and greater amount of water vapour in the atmosphere. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), such a change is driven largely by increased carbon dioxide, whose concentration in exhaled air has reached the highest recorded levels (415 parts per million, ppmv) in at least 3 million years. Climate models warn of 4° warming by year 2100 if dramatic action is not immediately taken to slash carbon emissions. Extreme consequences would hit our planet and affect the life of plants, animals, people as well as the entire geopolitical balance. In view of the above, we should be aware of another clear and simple fact: we know how to prevent this and we have technologies. Renewable energy sources, building energy efficiency, electric vehicles, preventing overuse and avoiding disposable items, public transport and smart mobility, eating seasonable and sustainable fruits and vegetables rather than products of animal origin, waste reduction, recycling, circular economy and more. The governments of the 185 countries responsible for 88% of global emissions have committed to sign the Paris Agreement and to adopt measures aimed at containing global warming. It is important not to forget that citizens –and companies- action and participation matters. In such a delicate and important concern, big players’ commitment alone will not make the difference and we need to understand the importance of assuming individual responsibility to the issue of safeguarding and looking after Earth’s natural capital. When it comes to climate change, government action and civil participation have to go hand in hand; individual effort alone will not save the planet. Viasat Group has been committed for years in the distribution of telematic technologies optimizing fleets operations for goods and people transport; any light or heavy commercial vehicle can reduce its amount of emitted carbon dioxide by driving the shortest and least congested routes and reducing tire and brake consumption. Should municipalities adopt one of our smart cities solutions, they could, for example, optimize waste collection activities, tracing routes and verifying the correct disposal, enhancing the development of the so-called circular economy, where someone’s waste becomes raw material for others rather than being ‘buried’ underground for future generations. Companies’ communication strategies are often oriented to what they can offer to the market. The authentic reasons why people decide to dedicate their time and energies are often neglected, as well as the real ‘mission’ of a company. What Viasat Group wants to say, today, is just that we want to give our contribute to build a better world.