CLIMATE CHANGE: A GROWING CANCER
World leaders want the best for their countries, they work hard so that their countries can be marked on the map as the most acclaimed one, with having all the powers for showcasing its superiority. The interests of their people are of paramount importance and they use all their relations for their welfare. However, even after getting down to the nitty-gritty of their requirements, they lag in something that nobody is oblivious to- climate change, something that now seems inevitable.
Climate change is the defining issue of our time and at this moment, we are defining it because we all are responsible for causing it. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of the climate change coupled with the dire consequences of it will target everyone across the globe as the they are unprecedented in scale. Without any drastic action by officials against it, being subjected to these impacts would be costly and would destroy human mankind. Preventing the impacts of climate change seems impossible because it is caused by humans that usually opposes the humanly activities beneficial for the environment. Climate refers to the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period of time, though climate change occurs when there are changes in Earth’s climate system which results in new weather patters that consistently remains for a long period of time. The climate system constitutes of five essential points- the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), cryosphere (ice and permafrost), biosphere (living things), and lithosphere (Earth’s crust and upper mantle), but after more than a century and a half of industrialization, deforestation, and large scale of agriculture, quantities of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have risen to a level that has not been recorded in last three million years. As lifestyles, economies and populations grow, the level of greenhouse gas emissions rises as well- affecting the average global temperature of Earth.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment to provide an objective source of scientific information. In 2013 the IPCC stated the clear involvement of human activities in climate change in its Fifth Assessment Report and categorically ruled out the role of those human activities as the real cause behind the climate change. The report gave a cumulative report of the changes in the climate of Earth; from 1880 to 2012, the global temperature increased by 0.856C, the oceans have warmed, the snow and ice have diminished and the sea levels has risen, the sea ice extent in the Arctic has shrunk in every successive decade. So, the global temperature increase must be kept below 1.5 degrees above pre- industrial levels. Though, last year global carbon emissions increased by 2.7%, hitting a record high of 37.1bn tonnes.
Amazing number of conventions were organized to help in saving our planet. In 1992, the United Nation’s “Earth Summit” produced the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the initial step in addressing the problem of climate change which now has near-universal membership by preventing “dangerous” human interference with the climate system. In 1995, countries launched negotiations with the purpose of strengthening the global response to climate change, and after two years the world witnessed the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol that legally bound the developed countries to emission reduction targets. Moreover, for combating climate change and accelerating the actions for sustainable low carbon future, the Paris Agreement was introduced to chart a new course in all the global climate efforts, the agenda behind this agreement was to prevent the rise in the global temperature. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) signed at Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 focused on the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, and the Biological Diversity Convention aimed at conserving biological diversity and sustainable use of its components.
The United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 began on Saturday, 21st September and ended on the 23rd of September 2019. It was a crucial summit, convened by Secretary- General António Guterres. The Summit focused on key sectors like heavy industry, nature-based solutions, cities, energy, resilience, and climate finance- where actions can make a difference. Though, all reports of progress by the world leaders will be presented in the United Nations (UN) conference in 2020. The Summit consisted of renowned world leaders, climate activists, and social scientists. Greta Thunberg, a passionate Swedish teenager, was one of them. A 16-year-old activist, through her speech, thought of giving a warning to the world leaders who did nothing but mocked children and teens for acting on science. She has always been looking for reasons behind world’s climate. Nobody she knew cared enough for the climate and ecological crisis, and being the inquisitive girl, she is, she was determined to change that by starting her campaign with her family to get the world to act on climate change. She persuaded her parents to not to eat meat or take flights. On 20th August 2018, she walked alone on to the steps of the Swedish Parliament building holding her now- famous “school strike for climate” sign. She became one of the most celebrated and reviled people in the world after this. She was one of the most recognized speakers of the UN Climate Summit because she has the talent of firmly presenting her views – she accused world leaders of practically ‘stealing’ her dreams and her childhood, she warned them by explaining to them the urgency of protecting the climate and future generations are keeping an eye on them and if the leaders fail, nobody will forgive them.
In conclusion, the point here is not about how much and at what level can the change be made. Greta Thunberg is just an ordinary girl with extraordinary approaches, she is someone who describes her Asperger’s as a “superpower”. She is determined, brave, clear-minded and inspiring for many people. Everybody is appalled and frustrated with the climate because no one is working enough for tackling climate change. Climate action should very much remain a work for everyone and not just social activists. No one body is or should be responsible for bringing out change. If all collectively cause destruction, then all should work towards betterment. Though, slowly the world is waking up as fears about the impact of global warming on younger generations has also drawn fresh protests in India, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand, Berlin, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Poland, Canada and Bolivia. We all must try to do our part for the climate; whoever calls the shots, in the end, we all must achieve the same goal of protecting our world.
SUBMITTED BY-
ARPITA VARMA
STUDENT REPORTER, INBA