Pro-planet-people approach

Climate change has been the core element of the recent summits being held. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi who is attending the G7 summit as a special invitee has showcased India as a model for taking a prudent approach to curb the action of climate change. He beseeched the rich or the larger nations to support India’s efforts and promote Triple-P.

From changing weather patterns, that affect the biodiversity, to rising sea levels leading to catastrophic flooding, the impact of climate change is unprecedented, visible throughout the globe. Without taking radical measures, living with this change, is formidable. The recent IPCC report provides a closer look to the issue of climate change. It estimates cumulative CO2 emissions since pre-industrial times and provides a CO2 budget for future emissions to limit warming to less than 2°C. About half of this maximum amount was already emitted by 2011. Global average sea level rose by 19cm and global temperature rose by 0.85°C between 1880 to 2012. Given the current harmful emissions, temperature and sea level is expected to rise above the pre-industrial level. The 2018 report on the impact of global warning of 1.5°C, finds that limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require conscious and conjoint efforts by all the nations. To achieve the C1 pathway, that is the best case- scenario, GHG emissions must fall by 43% by 2030.

Way forward: Mitigating climate change would require sincere and deliberate efforts, but there’s no magic bullet. Nearly all of those solutions exist today, it’s just the attitudinal behavior and the perception which needs to be changed. It may be achieved by using less waste generation and smarter resources. For example, increase in wind and solar power, improvement to energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy, biofuels from organic waste are all efficacious ways to reduce CO2 emissions and other harmful gases, being released into the atmosphere. Planting trees at the right places and protecting forests like the Amazon, producing 20% of world’s total oxygen, is a great start. Using plastic alternatives, sustainable means of transport, promoting vegan diet are all potent ways to tackle climate change.

It is easy to feel dumfound, and to feel that climate change is a herculean task to achieve. But the solutions are already there, question arises of making this impossibility a possibility. For this to work out, proactive international cooperation between the government and the people is needed.