LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM HURRICANE IDA

NEW DELHI: The extraordinarily fierce Hurricane Ida landed in the Gulf Coast of the United States. It might wipe away almost a million houses, say news reports. Note the irony : The hurricane is likely to strike almost the same day as the devastating Hurricane Katrina of 2005. I drove by the area in 2009 and it was chilling to see the submerged homes, wreckage, strange landscapes.

And then there’s the other irony : fossil fuels. The Gulf Coast is a key oil drilling area, supplying about 17% of America’s oil, says Reuters. The companies have stopped work and are trying to protect workers. I wonder if they are thinking of how petroleum has contributed to global warming, which in turn has given us these kind of freakily muscular weather events.

Who is going to pay for the loss and damage? It is almost impossible to compensate the people and the local authorities for what’s finished. Rebuilding is the only option, if that is chosen. Even for one of the world’s wealthiest countries, it is impossible to reverse the damage, far less prevent it.

The hurricane has only one lesson: fight much harder against climate change, or hurricanes, droughts, floods, lightening-these will be part of whatever life is left. When this is over, the US must identify game changing pain points it will fearlessly implement. Other wealthier countries must follow suite and go beyond net zero. Climate change cannot be fought without tightening our belts and slashing down convenience.