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The global way out.

Relevance: GS Paper 3, GS paper 1.

Recent Context:

● Recently, The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has noted that the first week of July was the “hottest week on record”.

● Extreme weather conditions have been on the rise across the globe for decades and there is rise in experiencing hotter summers, colder winters, rising sea levels, reductions in sea ice levels, increased storm activity, and more.

● Global warming and climate change are regarded as one the main reasons for the adverse events.

What is climate change?

● Climate change is the long-term increase in the earth’s average surface temperature and the large-scale changes in global, regional, and local weather patterns that result from that increase, caused by a significant increase in the levels of greenhouse gases that are produced by the use of fossil fuels.

Causes for Climate Change-

Natural Causes of Climate Change:

○ Changes in Solar Radiation – The sun’s rays heat the earth regardless of changes in weather patterns that occur below. As such, any change in the sun’s radiation – either an increase or decrease – will influence our surface temperatures.

○ Greenhouse Gases – As the temperature increases, more greenhouse gases are released into the air. This traps more heat in the earth’s atmosphere while thinning out the ozone layer, which means less radiation can escape. It can cause a nasty cycle where the participants feed off each other.

○ Drastic Weather Changes- Climate change can also occur through drastic weather changes. Disasters like hurricanes or floods can cause significant damage to the surrounding environment, which in turn can affect the climate.

Man-Made Causes of Climate Change:

The most prominent man-made causes of climate change include:

● Industrialization – Increased development has led to greater production and allocation of energy, which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in greater percentages than in the past.

● Inconsistent Emissions Controls – As technology continues to improve, emissions control standards haven’t kept pace. This means that more harmful greenhouse gases are being released into the air.

● Deforestation – Plants breathe in carbon dioxide, which makes them an essential part of life on this planet. When increasing amounts of trees are cut down without planting new ones, it means a disproportionate amount of carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere and heats up the environment.

● Agribusiness – Contemporary farms send up large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere while meeting the food needs of developed countries.

● Modernization – The concrete used to build roads, and the vehicles that travel upon them, create high levels of carbon dioxide and exhaust fumes that contribute to higher temperatures.

Effects of Climate change?

Climate change impacts our world in a wide variety of ways, including:

● Weather: As weather patterns become unpredictable, it affects food production. Also, extreme weather conditions put people at significant risk of disease and injury.

● Plants: As the weather becomes warmer and sea levels rise, plant life moves higher or further inland. This can result in problems for local animal life.

● Wildlife: Changes in the environment cause changes in animal behavior. Many animals are affected by the lack of food sources and new predators that were previously unable to penetrate into their territories. Consequently, animals are forced into a position where they have to migrate or face extinction.

● Businesses: Extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and tornadoes can destroy vast amounts of property. As such, businesses suffer the losses that these tragedies bring.

● Increasing Sea Levels: As polar ice caps melt, sea levels begin to rise. This can potentially displace millions of people worldwide as well as destroy various ecosystems and natural landmarks.

● Ocean Acidification: As the oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they become increasingly acidic, which can be dangerous to coral and marine life.

Steps need to be taken to counter Climate change:

● Adoption of renewable based source of energy:

• There is need for rapid shift from carbon-based energy to renewable based energy: Alog with its priority should be to increase the share of renewables in the energy basket and to scale up yet-to-be-proven technologies like green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage and utilization.
• Switch to sustainable transport: Petrol and diesel vehicles, planes and ships use fossil fuels. Reducing car use, switching to electric vehicles and minimizing plane travel will not only help stop climate change, but it will also reduce air pollution too.
• Protect forests like the Amazon: Forests are crucial in the fight against climate change and protecting them is an important climate solution. Cutting down forests on an industrial scale destroys giant trees which could be sucking up huge amounts of carbon.
• Protect the oceans: Oceans also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to keep our climate stable. But many are overfished, used for oil and gas drilling or threatened by deep sea mining. Protecting oceans and the life in them is ultimately a way to protect from climate change.

● Put the 3 Rs of sustainability into practice:

Reduce: consume less, more efficiently. Reuse products instead of throwing them away. Recycle waste products.

● There is need for national and international collective effort to fight against climate:

National level effort such as The US Inflation Reduction Act, Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment mechanism (CBAM) helps in GHGs emission but blocks on technology trade and rising tariff barriers reflect this towards economic nationalism. Therefore, the national effort should be in line with international efforts for better outcomes.

Conclusion:

World have suffered the experience of Covid19, but it overcame it through collaboration and coordination. To address the menace of climate change we need Cooperation and coordination from different stakeholders and integrated approach from multiple platforms assisting and enriching the efforts made to address climate change.

Source:

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-global-way-out-8879802/