Abstract
Welcome to the final issue of Volume 130 of Applied Earth Science and the end of what feels like another tumultuous year with the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic and much more. This editorial is going to hopefully be short and sweet but I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind you all (as if you needed it!) that geoscience and geoscientists are going to be vital in the global efforts to mitigate against anthropogenic climate change. The challenges have been highlighted by the recent 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) conference in Glasgow, Scotland, which aimed to accelerate global action towards the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, the policymaking under way at this conference will be impossible to enact without the efforts, knowledge and contribution of geoscientists and geoscience across the world.
The importance of geoscientists in climate change research and mitigation is exemplified by the fact that the research presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the policies surrounding climate change developed by governments and other organisations globally all rely on geoscience in one way or another. These include meeting increased demand for the metals and minerals that are crucial for the development of low- and zero-CO2 transport, energy generation and production, and the associated infrastructure this requires. Geoscientists are also crucial in areas such as carbon sequestration and capture, be it by the enhancement of CO2 sequestration by mafic–ultramafic mine tailings or by subsurface storage. The development of renewable energy sources such as geothermal energy will also involve geoscientists, as will site selection and engineering relating to hydro, solar, wind, and tidal energy generation. Geoscientific research also underpins both our knowledge of climate change and its possible effects, as well as mitigation in terms of developments such as flood and sea defences and other protections against extreme weather events that are likely to increase in frequency into the future. Finally, geoscientists need to be active in the policymaking arena, ensuring that politicians and other decision-makers are informed of the costs (e.g. increased mining of metals and minerals for energy storage and renewable energy generation infrastructure) and as well as the benefits of the choices they make. All of this means that the next few decades are truly going to showcase the importance of our science, and we need to ensure that the general public understands the importance of geoscience in their everyday lives.
See you all in 2022.