Global climate change is potentially the most significant

environmental problem the world is currently facing. I agree with the

quotation that nuclear holocaust and terrorism are not bigger issues
than climate change.
Global climate change encompasses rising temperatures, extreme
weather, shifting of wildlife population and habitats, rising of sea
levels, and an array of other impacts. The levels of greenhouse
gases are higher now than at any point in the last 800,000 years
(Weitzman, 2011). It has become evident that humans have brought
climate change upon themselves.
As the global temperature increases, the ice at the North Pole will
melt leading to a rise in sea levels. According to National Snow and
Ice Data Centre, “If all land ice melted, sea level would rise
approximately 70 meters (230 feet) worldwide” (National Snow and
Ice Data Center, n.d.). Many low lying countries such as the
Netherlands will be covered by sea. Although the rise of sea levels
is not immediate, it will occur over time Due to the damages caused,
governments would need to spend a lot of money on repairs and
providing their people the basic needs of a human being. Usually
then deaths happen, diseases could result. It is predicted that
diseases could spread at a fast rate with deadlier effects due to the
change in climate. In light of the dangers we might face through
global climate change, Stephen Hawking has warned that humans
need to leave the Earth in order to avoid annihilation as it is,
“…almost inevitable that…environmental catastrophe will cripple the
Earth.” (Higgins, 2018).
Today, people are trained to prioritise clear and tangible danger such
as terrorism compared to climate change. Despite the awareness
and research showing that climate change is a concern to each and
every person in the world, people disregard the magnitude of this
topic as they fail to see its correlation to terrorism.
believe that capitalism is to be blamed for the uprising global climate
change. Big corporations are constructively turning nature into
money (Polychroniou, 2018). This has brought about inequality.
Hence, societies do not have the resources to fight climate change.
The problem of collective action is climate change. The only system
for collective action, worldwide and in the world’s top emitters, like
the US and China, is capitalism (Polychroniou, 2018). This can be
seen in shareholder value, current accounts, and free trade deals.
The only system that has been proven to work is social democracy
(Manne, 2010). Europe being the only region that has proved it to be
capable of reducing carbon emissions (Manne, 2010). Whereas,
carbon emissions in the US and China are ascending (Worland,
2018). Social democracy is not just capitalism. The central goal of
society should not be the profits of corporations.
In conclusion, the threat of climate change is far greater than that of
nuclear holocaust and terrorism. A key area for decreasing the rate
of climate change would be the healthy relationship between US and
China. Moreover, people need to be educated about its magnitude
and be aware of the threat it poses to them and everything thing
around.
[SHAJJAD speech notes]