Climate change, Global warming and COP26 - EDITORIAL

The much-hyped 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland commenced yesterday, 31 October. US President Biden’s Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry described the summit at Glasgow as having summoned more climate ambition than the world has ever seen and added it was the “last, best chance” to beat the climate crisis.
 The United Nations (UN) describes Climate change as being long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Though natural cycles and fluctuations have caused the earth’s climate to change several times over the last 800,000 years, the UN points out our current era of global warming is directly attributable to human activity —specifically to our burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gasoline, and natural gas, which results in the greenhouse effect.

 Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally this radiation would escape into space, but these pollutants, which can last for centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. These heat-trapping pollutants —specifically carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and synthetic fluorinated gases— are known as greenhouse gases, and their impact is called the greenhouse effect. One of the most visible consequences of a warming world is an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events.

 The health effects of these disruptions include increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events, changes in the prevalence and geographical distribution of food- and water-borne illnesses and other infectious diseases, and threats to mental health.
 Around the world storms, floods and wildfires are intensifying. In recent weeks, the devastating effects of wildfires which have killed more than 100 people and rendered thousands homeless, have been dominating headlines around the world.

 Several countries have reported their worst fires in decades, including hundreds of deadly fires across the Mediterranean. In Algeria, at least 90 people have died as a result.
 In Europe on July 14-15, a major storm lead to record rainfall over Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands which caused rivers to overflow their banks and left hundreds of people injured, missing or dead. 
 The good news is that countries around the globe have formally committed —as part of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement— to lower their emissions by setting new standards and crafting new policies to meet or even exceed those standards. 

 Nearly every country in the world set targets for reducing their carbon emissions --but the sum total of their pledges fell far short of what was needed; and the bad news is, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, scientists tell us that we need to reduce global carbon emissions by as much as 40 percent by 2030.
  The necessary changes are not taking place fast enough.

  Today China and India are held up as being among the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases worldwide. The reality, however, as Jeff Turrentine (former correspondent ‘Washington Post’, the ‘Slate’, ‘The New York Times’ and ‘The Los Angeles Times’), exposes quoting the ‘Global Carbon Project’, is that since the start of the Industrial Revolution, more than 2,000 billion tons of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere by human activities. He adds North America and Europe are responsible for approximately half of that total, while the emerging economies of China and India have contributed 14 percent and the remainder 150-plus countries share responsibility.

However, what the world needs today, is not finger-pointing or holier-than-though attitudes. It‘s time to cut out the crap and take concrete steps to save humanity. This means thinking of our children -from the sons and daughters of multi-billionaires to the starving children in war-torn Afghanistan and Yemen. 
 Else the reality of global warming and climate change will kill them all slowly and painfully. 
 Scientists tell us our planet faces extinction… And extinction means forever.

For the past 26 years, world leaders have discussed climate change, global warming, and tackling the problems of pollution –hence the name COP26. Sadly, nothing much has been practically achieved. Should we expect anything different this time around?
 Can our children believe that world leaders of today can cast aside their cynicism, differences of ideology, religion and power for the sake of humanity? Or is it too big an ask?