Climate Change: a great crises that we will defeat.

 

“Climate change is a terrible problem, and it needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority.”-Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft.

Do you experience intense heat more often than your parents and grandparents? It must be a ‘NO’. During those days heat was not severe and if we analyze the scenario 20 years ago, people were able to live without air conditioners. But why are we experiencing this weather pattern?

Well, this is persuaded by human activities that cause climate change. As per as United Nations, climate change is regarded as one of the greatest crises in the world. Planet Earth emits certain amount of carbon but its natural mechanism regulates overall temperature. But these things began to take dramatic turn when humans began to hinder over earth mechanism.

With the advent of industrial revolution, humans were researching on striving for new technologies that provoked higher economic growth. This progressive philosophy remodeled into reckless chaos to exploit earth. As per as IEA data, there is a 1.1% rise in global energy related CO2 emissions.

Human induced activities are being a major rational for global temperature rise. Nature is able to manage its mechanism and so planet earth too can regulate temperature until human interference. This year’s April became warmest in global climate record. As per as scientists predictions, the year of 2024 can beat the records of 2023. It has compromising effects on human health with the intensifying loss of internal temperature, heat cramps, exhaustion, heat stroke and hyperthermia.

Theses series of negative consequences does not end here; it expedites alternation of earth’s weather pattern making summer hotter and winter colder. Long lasting seasons complicate the usual rhythm that again provokes food insecurity and water scarcity. The uncommon impinge disrupts drizzling cycle, with the rise in the rate of evaporation. As temperature is at its alarm, glaciers began to liquidify and its after-effects are draughts in dry areas and floods near coastal and rainy regions, sabotaging the fertile farmlands and water bodies.

The impacts are not restrained to environmental and economical dimensions only, its effects on social life is tremendous. Mostly women and children are affected with the increase in economic inequality. As water became scarce resource women often walk for miles to bring water by risking their safety as it has increased the rates of sexual exploitation.   

We had already pointed out the earlier climate change affects our health, but let’s dive deeper to apprehend the aspect, how it provokes acceleration in diseases spread. In warmer areas water-borne diseases are more persistent, sickness like cholera, diarrhea, etc which has a mortality rate. The areas with frequent flooding experience a surge of vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria due to poor water management that further triggers mosquito breeding.

Ice melts if you put the cube in a place with high temperature. What would expect with earth being at boiling point happens to glaciers of north and south poles? Scientists believe that many viruses are still alive but not active and melting iceberg can be reason of future pandemics. This havoc is not bounded by this, it further lead to degeneration of tundra environment, distressing the ecology.

Everything around us has a capacity, do we really think that ocean plates can accommodate this skyrocketing amount of water in it. Well, briny deep finds its way but at what cost. It raises its level affecting the coastal regions making these a prone zone for cyclones and tsunami.

Thereafter, do you think Ocean is left unspoiled? Well, oceans are carbon sink but with the increase in CO2 concentration, it advances to a condition when pH of sea water tends to decrease, this phenomenon is called ‘Ocean Acidification’. Humanly induced prodigious agita has disrupted marine food chain together with nullifying marine life by impinging their natural traits of DNA affecting their eye sight and size.

This dilemma is multi-dimensional and its denouement winding up environment, economical and social demeanor. Developing countries are more negatively affected even their carbon footprints are low, adding more extent of inequality enduring deluge of conflicts.

The major complication we are facing demands aggregate endeavor of countries. Multifarious United Nations agreements have been passed. UNFCC (United Nations Framework for Climate Change) an agreement passed in 1992, to curb the dangers of Climate Change. Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 to accomplish reduction of greenhouse gases. Lately a decade ago Paris Agreement was passed, a committed accordance of 196 parties with a single intention to reduce Carbon footprints. Yet an inclusive policy framing is demanding with the top to bottom level of partnership.

However, while devising approach economists should examine that a switch from “Brown Economy” to “Green Economy” (especially for developed nations) must not be skeptical.

As a theory by German Economists Hans-Werner-Sinn states a transition to renewable energy by developed countries increase the supply of non-renewable recourses which in terms makes brown energies cheaper for developing and under-developing countries. This will increase their energy consumption and overall Carbon emissions. The situation will end up in a paradox and it is also called “Green Paradox”. A theory with chains of controversies but a cautious transformation is required.

As per as an economics researcher’s prescient, revival of tribal culture can aid this situation as it will save forest (their economy is relied on natural resources and indigenous culture preserve wildlife). Moreover, greener innovations should be favored both in terms of climate mitigation and adaptation facet by keeping in minds both short and long run. The upper hand of this advocacy will maintain transition but in a sluggish manner.

It is problematic but together we can duel with already stated modern problem. As we had changed our perspective on how we look at development. At the initial period (during industrial revolution) were more focused on GDP growth by compromising basic human rights. Later human rights and social aspects were included and measure of development was not only based on numbers. At last we came up with environmental aspects of human’s life and together a structure with three pillars and 17 goals was modeled called “Sustainable Development” that covered the all aspect of human and planet life.

By: Khushi Joshi