Global climate change strategy an opportunity for growth

How much more scientific evidence that climate change is real, is man-made and is the greatest danger to the survival of humanity must be presented before world leaders act in accordance with the magnitude of this impending disaster? There is an ever-growing body of research making it clear that we humans, by our wasteful and irresponsible attitude to nature, are heading for an environmental cataclysm unless we act very quickly indeed.

But worse is that we might already be very close to reaching the point of no return.

While what is required is an urgent, global and holistic strategy to contain this existential danger, the best that we currently see are either some patched-up policies that don’t adequately address the problem or more comprehensive agreements that are only halfheartedly implemented, if at all.

The Paris climate agreement, which was signed two years ago, was intended to create a desperately necessary central global mechanism to tackle the threat of climate change. It was supposed to tie together the entire world — and especially the biggest polluters, such as the US and China — in an agreement that could avert environmental disasters derived from climate change.

Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO), observed that: “We are the first generation to fully understand climate change and the last generation to be able to do something about it.” Indeed, we have to put enormous resources to work in order to engage with and understand this phenomenon, and we must also have the courage to accept that doing so will affect every aspect of our lives.

Though it is common knowledge that the wide and imprudent use of fossil fuels is the major cause of global warming, we are nowhere close to meeting the targets set by the Paris climate agreement for reducing their use. Hence the only logical conclusion is that the warming of the planet will continue.

If, in the past, politicians could assert that there was not enough scientific evidence to support claims of climate change and global warming, mainly to avoid taking tough decisions that require bold policies, that excuse has long lost its validity. There is ample evidence that climate change is real, is man-made, and is the cause of ever more frequent, extreme and unpredictable weather conditions.

The gap between science and politics derives mainly from politicians’ fear of the short-term implications of introducing a more environmentally friendly economy, with its impact on certain industries and consequently jobs. However, these fears derive mainly from ignorance and a lack of imagination. There are massive economic and job creation opportunities in exploiting new, clean and sustainable energy sources, which will only accelerate the economies of those countries that have the courage to invest in them.

Withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, as has been suggested by US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s newly elected President Jair Bolsonaro (with the latter ignoring the impact on his country’s Amazon rainforest), is a case in point. Typically, Trump — pre-empting a conclusive report composed by 13 federal agencies outlining the devastating impact of climate change on individuals, communities and the US economy — tweeted “whatever happened to global warming?” after a cold snap hit parts of the country. Not only was he dismissive of this well-researched and considered Fourth National Climate Assessment report, but his administration made sure the report was released on Black Friday, when people were more interested in hunting for bargains than considering the consequences of their shopping habits.

One can, of course, ignore the reality of climate change, but not its consequences. And the Fourth National Climate Assessment is bold in its verdict that climate change has both introduced “new risks and has exacerbated existing vulnerabilities in communities across the United States,” which endanger human health, safety and quality of life, and hamper the rate of economic growth. What more is required for governments to take urgent action to reverse this situation?

We must scale this slippery slope of living in denial of the dangers — both immediate and long-term — of climate change. And we must realize that reversing the impact of global warming can take place only through a global, integrated and determined strategy. Only a global alliance gives us a fighting chance to save the environment, and with it humanity, from a self-inflicted and painful destruction. Such a strategy will require cooperation between governments, international organizations, and businesses big and small, as well as between individuals. And we must all accept and internalize that, although the age of wastefully and dangerously exploiting our planet is over, this fact also presents humanity with endless opportunities for healthy and sustainable development.