Biju Dharmapalan
Climate change is a buzzword among policymakers, the scientific world, and the general public. Even illiterate rural folk understand the change in the climatic patterns on our planet. Even places like Kerala, where moderate climatic conditions prevail throughout the year, are now reeling under hot conditions. Northern India, especially Delhi, had a severe winter a few months back. But once we tide over that difficult situation, we quickly forget the issues.
Humans, or Homo sapiens, think about nature only when some calamity strikes badly. Be it the unprecedented flood that hit Kerala in 2018 or the land subsidence noticed in recent times in the Himalayan belt, especially in the regions of Joshimath. Even before any natural calamity strikes a region, our scientific community raises alarm bells based on their research finding. But the public and political elite often neglect these scientific reports for convenience. The Gadgil committee report that had seen opposition from the public, instigated by political and religious groups in Kerala, is the best example of how vested interests distorted scientific information. Similarly, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has given many recommendations during the past several years for protecting our environment, be it the warning regarding the rise in global temperature or depletion of potable water in many regions of our country.
Homo sapiens feel they are superior and have the right to dominate on this planet. They hardly show any respect towards their fellow species’ and take it for granted that this planet is only for their survival and that all available resources are made exclusively for their well-being. We often forget that we are among millions of biological species sharing space with us. Indian tradition has long followed, living in harmony with nature. A visit to our heritage sites or old religious monuments reveals this tradition followed by the society during that period. For us, nature is divine and is considered as ‘Mother’. We have been effectively conserving biodiversity through our scared grooves. With cultures and traditions being replaced by the mad rush towards development, we started exploiting nature badly. Humans have destroyed every place on this planet, the mountains, the rivers, the oceans, the forests, the glaciers, and now have started exploiting outer space for the vested interest of a single species.
No human being will avoid the usage of air conditioning for the sake of the environment. Even the so-called environmental activists enjoy the privilege of sitting in air-conditioned buildings and speaking about conservation. It is not that we have to avoid our developmental activities, but we must make it attuned to nature. We are destroying our agricultural lands and wetlands to build residential and commercial infrastructure. No one is asking the policymakers how we will feed our future generations or how we will provide water to our future generations. We know pollution is the root cause of global warming, but we won’t avoid refrigeration or burning fossil fuels. Instead, we place our blame on others to support our mischief.
There is no time to debate who caused the damage. Indeed, developed countries contributed much to global warming through the rapid industrialisation that happened. But every passing year, every developing country is striving hard to become developed through rapid industrialisation, contributing their harm to the planet. Pollution is a cyclic phenomenon where every nation contributes its share to the destruction of the environment. Homo sapien doesn’t belong to any country, it belongs to this planet. The survival of future humanity will indeed depend on climatic conditions on this planet. Any rise in global temperature will not only raise the global sea levels but also affect the balance of every ecosystem on this planet. It can lead to the extinction of many species and affect agricultural productivity, ultimately making human life miserable.
Humanity still has a chance, close to the last, to prevent the worst of climate change’s future harms, according to the recent synthesis report published by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). But doing so requires quickly slashing nearly two-thirds of carbon pollution by 2035,calling for an end to new fossil fuel exploration and for rich countries to quit coal, oil and gas by 2040.The IPCC reports significantly impact the future of humanity because they provide a comprehensive and authoritative scientific assessment of the risks and impacts of climate change, as well as the options for adaptation and mitigation. The reports are based on the best available scientific evidence and are widely recognised as a critical resource for policymakers, business leaders, and civil society organisations worldwide.
The findings of the IPCC reports can inform and shape policies and strategies at local, national, and international levels, helping to guide decisions on issues such as energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry, and urban planning. By providing a clear and compelling scientific basis for action, the reports can help to mobilise political will and public support for ambitious and effective action on climate change.Moreover, the IPCC reports have helped raise public awareness of the urgency and magnitude of the climate challenge and have catalysed a global movement for climate action. The reports have stimulated innovative research, technological development, and business opportunities, creating new jobs and economic growth opportunities in the transition to a low-carbon and resilient future.
However, the IPCC reports’ effectiveness in shaping humanity’s future depends on the extent to which their findings are translated into concrete policies, strategies, and actions. It is up to policymakers, business leaders, and civil society organisations to use the information provided by the IPCC reports to make informed decisions and take bold and ambitious action to address the climate crisis. The report concludes that human activities unequivocally cause climate change and that it is happening faster and more extensively than previously thought. It states that global temperatures have risen by 1.1°C compared to pre-industrial levels. They are likely reach or exceed 1.5°C within two decades, leading to more frequent and severe climate impacts such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and storms.
The report also highlights the urgent need for immediate and ambitious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to 1.5°C. It provides a range of scenarios and pathways for achieving this goal, including rapid and deep reductions in emissions from all sectors, deployment of low-carbon technologies, and large-scale investments in climate adaptation and resilience. Overall, the IPCC report is a stark reminder of the existential threat of climate change and the urgent need for global cooperation and collective action to address it.
The solution lies in climate-resilient development. This involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in ways that provide wider benefits. For example, access to clean energy and technologies improves health, especially for women and children; low-carbon electrification, walking, cycling and public transport enhance air quality, improve health, employment opportunities and deliver equity. The economic benefits for people’s health from air quality improvements alone would be roughly the same, or possibly even more significant than the costs of reducing or avoiding emissions. Climate resilient development becomes progressively more challenging with every increment of warming. This is why the choices made in the next few years will play a critical role in deciding our future and future generations. To make it more effective, these choices must be rooted in our diverse values, worldviews and knowledge, including scientific knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge and local knowledge. This approach facilitates climate-resilient development and allows locally appropriate, socially acceptable solutions. We live in a diverse world in which everyone has different responsibilities and different opportunities to bring about change. Transformational changes are more likely to succeed where there is trust, where everyone works together to prioritise risk reduction, and where benefits and burdens are shared equitably for the sake of humanity.
(The author is a science communicator and columnist.)
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