Christophe Pels / Technicien de recherches

ELIB – UCL / Bachelier en Agro-Industrie & Biotechnologie

The translation of this testimony was generated automatically by a translation program. Thanks for your understanding.

As far back as I can remember, I have always been very sensitive to the environmental cause. This ecological awareness has guided my professional career and I have been working as a research technician at the Catholic University of Louvain since 2001, within the Earth & Life Institute, in the “biodiversity” cluster.
I think that everyone has been able to see that the impacts of climate change are already being felt (temperature peaks, extreme weather events, seasonal disruptions, etc.). As part of my work, we conduct field surveys and laboratory experiments that allow us to measure and predict biodiversity loss due to these changes.
Personally, what moves me the most is, on the one hand, the definitive disappearance of species, some of which have not even had time to be described. I have two young daughters and it saddens me to think that the world in which they will grow up will be impoverished of so much natural wealth. On the other hand, I remain totally shocked by the climate sceptic movements that are flooding the Internet with false information to cast doubt on the impact of mankind on these climate disruptions. This subject has been the subject of numerous publications and there is a total consensus within the international scientific community to point out the responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions. This “Junk science” and obscurantism have wasted years of awareness and therefore action, and continue to slow it down to this day.
I try to be an actor of change on a daily basis. I travel from my home to Louvain-la-Neuve by bus at least 3 times a week. I also stopped eating meat more than 20 years ago. I’m a selective sorting geek. However, I remain convinced that this trend can only be reversed by imposing constraints, through decision-makers, on the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. There is also an urgent need to effectively combat deforestation.
I remain quite pessimistic about the future, but I hope with all my heart to be mistaken and I am amazed, enthusiastic and happy to finally see young and old mobilize for ecology. I hope that the political world realizes that environmental protection must be an absolute priority!

Originally posted 2018-06-22 01:16:09.

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