Climate change blights the world because of human inaction and mankind’s
tendency to ignore harsh realities by seeking refuge in lies.
ByImran Jan | November 2020
Human beings, after the agricultural revolution and industrial revolution, may appear to have taken enormous strides towards betterment and advancement but this is on the surface only. Our ancestors, on the eve of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, did not have iPhones and Teslas but they were healthier and happier than us. The agricultural revolution helped humans stay in one place for a long time instead of living a nomadic life and so conflict arose over territory and land. The industrial revolution exacerbated the lust for greed and off we went to unleash the destruction on our planet that had hosted life for billions of years before us. There is many a retail as well as wholesale threat around the world created largely by human greed.
However, there are two extinction-causing threats that humanity faces: the threat of a nuclear war and climate change. While the nuclear war can be avoided with human action, climate change is there because of human inaction and its tendency to ignore harsh realities and seek refuge in lies. For decades, scientists have been ridiculed as alarmist and crazy warnings of the coming apocalypse. It became so politically charged that scientists had to avoid talking about the obvious threat in an alarmist language. For the most part, they avoided talking about it because they were scientists, not political and media spinners.
Furthermore, mega oil corporations such as Exxon, knew about the threat of climate change as early as in the 1970s but they kept a heavy lid on it. They even funded research to deny climate change. Climate denialism entered the American mainstream and completely hijacked the Republican Party.
The story of climate change is largely written by strong and powerful states and is not much different than any story that such states write. Neither is the outcome any different, because powerful and rich countries affect the climate adversely more than the poor countries but it is the poor countries that are affected a lot more. The industrially advanced countries create more carbon emissions by burning fossil fuel. The poor nations have almost no resources to deal with the coming apocalypse. The US and UK would largely be able to defend themselves to a better extent than Pakistan and India. The latter two countries are prone to enormous damage resulting from climate change.
The countries emitting the most carbon into the atmosphere are China, US, India, Japan, Germany, Russia and so forth. However, the countries the most at risk from climate change are Nigeria, Haiti, Yemen, Philippines, Kiribati, etc. To clarify, no country would be spared by the climate apocalypse but rich countries would be able to buy themselves some time. There are massive wildfires on the American west coast and in Australia at the time of this writing. Two hurricanes in the U.S. came and went about 3 weeks ago and another one was in the making, expected to make a landfall in Louisiana and Florida. Hollywood celebrities have their second homes in Louisiana. Right now, they can run from the California wildfire and hide in their Louisiana homes but they would be confronted with the hurricane there and asked to evacuate. Wealth and power are no insurance against this threat.
Every time Karachi or some other city is flooded, all hell breaks loose. Blame games start to happen that sometimes reach an ugly level. Jab barish hota hai tau pani aata hai, says Bilawal Bhutto, but nobody seems to ask why it rains so excessively. Extreme weather is climate change manifesting itself and reminds us what we have been doing to our beautiful earth. The civil war in Syria is to a great extent triggered by drought, caused by climate change. That should be enough for us to realize how much conflict is possible because of climate change.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Climate Change
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned the world that since ice at the earth’s poles melted fast and temperatures rose globally, any negligence towards climate change could put future generations in danger.
"If the world does not take notice now, I am afraid we will be endangering our future generations," he said in a video statement at the fourth Austrian World Summit held in Vienna.
On the invitation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, former California governor and actor, Prime Minister Imran Khan shared his vision about conserving biodiversity and the steps taken by Pakistan to fight the climate change. He said some 20 years ago, the topic of climate change was taken with skepticism but today it had become a harsh reality.
He mentioned the 'cruel face' of climate change for the world in the shape of record temperatures in Siberia, ice-melting on poles, rising temperatures in Europe, unprecedented fires ravaging in Australia and the American west coast and the rising number of cyclones and hurricanes.
He said Pakistan realized about a decade ago that the glaciers that flew to its rivers and ultimately fed the population were melting at a much faster pace. He urged the world to collaborate and join hands to fight climate change."It is time for the world to take action against climate change as a united goal," he said.
The damage to the world economy would reach an extent where a 4 degree warming expected around 2100, the world GDP would become static. Whatever gain is made would be equalled by the losses resulting from climate change. India alone would shoulder about 25% of the loss to the world economy. The earth has already become 1 degree Centigrade warmer and has achieved above normal heat for a straight 627 months.
Sea levels are rising 1 inch every 5 years at current emissions level, which are likely to increase. Once the carbon trapped in Permafrost is released, it would double the speed of the heat because that carbon would be released in the form of methane. Scientists believe that by 2050 around 150 million people would be displaced by high seas. Right now, around 70 million people are walking on the earth as refugees. Imagine the world in rising sea levels. The story of climate change is not only about the rise in temperature and rise in sea levels. It is a lot more complicated and dangerous than what we know. A weird fact is that water resources would dwindle with the worsening climate change.
In 2019, Engro unearthed the first layer of coal reserves in Sindh. Burning coal creates ever more carbon and would cause an enormous increase in carbon density in the atmosphere. In 2017, the carbon level reached 410 ppm (parts per million), a level not reached in millions of years.
But let us not find refuge in this therapeutic opinion that others are responsible for. The private sector will figure something out to curb the carbon emissions and slow down the rising temperature. In 2017, The Guardian published an article titled Want to fight climate change? Have fewer children. Each human being is a heat producing machine and each new child entering the world readjusts the calculus of tackling climate change. The same article suggests eating less meat and more vegetables, cutting down on long flights and selling our cars. The point is, we are all responsible for it. Everytime we turn on a light, go on a drive, buy an iPhone, etc., we put our mark on the destruction of our planet.
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