The issue of climate change and global warming is perhaps mankind’s greatest challenge but ironically many countries do not seem interested in treating it with the urgency required.
What is even more puzzling is that it is a challenge that could actually determine the future survival of civilization and the existence of man. The facts and evidence of the effects of global warming and climate change are overwhelming.
Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of the air near the Earth´s surface has risen a little less than 1° Celsius (0.74 ± 0.18°C, or 1.3 ± 0.32° Fahrenheit). Does not seem all that much? It is responsible for the conspicuous increase in storms, floods and raging forest fires we have seen in the last ten years, though, say scientists.
Their data show that an increase of one degree Celsius makes the Earth warmer now than it has been for at least a thousand years. Out of the 20 warmest years on record, 19 have occurred since 1980. The three hottest years ever observed have all occurred in the last ten years, even.
But it is not only about how much the Earth is warming, it is also about how fast it is warming. There have always been natural climate changes – Ice Ages and the warm intermediate times between them – but those evolved over periods of 50,000 to 100,000 years.
A temperature rise as fast as the one we have seen over the last 30 years has never happened before, as far as scientists can ascertain. Moreover, normally the Earth should now be in a cool-down-period, according to natural effects like solar cycles and volcano activity, not in a heating-up phase.
What is more, climate change won’t be a smooth transition to a warmer world, warns the Tipping Points Report by Allianz and WWF. Twelve regions around the world will be especially affected by abrupt changes, among them the North Pole, the Amazon rainforest, and California. (Source: Allianz Knowledge Site).
Predictions about the future global climate are also gloomy. According to Stephen Schneider, Climatologist, Stanford University the estimate (for increased temperatures) is between 1.5 and 4.5 degrees Celsius during the next 25 years. Very recently, the IPCC narrowed it to between 2 and 4.5 degrees. They call that “likely.” Well, likely means two-thirds to ninety percent. So, that still means there’s a 5-7 percent chance it could be “lucky” – below two degrees – or “really unlucky” – above 4.5.
What is also worrying is that the biggest polluters in the world are vacillating on the issue and are reluctant to invest money to help reverse the current climatic conditions.
At the recent appreciation ceremony for earning UNEP’s Champion of the Earth award, which richly deserves, President Jagdeo made very important and pertinent observations.
He made the point that the focus Guyana is placing on the protection of the forest has to do with the kind of world that the country wants to leave for the generations to come and the quality of life that people would want to have in that future.
“Clearly, everyone needs to act,” he said. Jagdeo said that with climate change, a country cannot build borders or walls to isolate itself from the consequences. “You cannot enact tough immigration policies or stringent health standards to avoid being impacted by climate change,” he said. He explained that a ton of carbon emitted in one of the developed countries of the world has the same impact as a tonne of carbon emitted by a neighbouring country.
The President is absolutely right because effects of climate change is a threat to the entire world and therefore there should be unity of purpose and action on this challenge which perhaps hold the key to the future of this planet. The words of our national poet Martin Carter might be applicable here: All are involved, all are consumed.