Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Surabhi Paraki
As the pandemic continues to afflict the world, we’re faced yet again with the looming threat of
climate change. Though it has been studied for decades, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) has released a new report that urges us to take the issue more seriously than ever
before.
The IPCC, or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, defines itself as “the United
Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.” It was established in 1988
jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment
Programme.
It provides governments across the world with all the scientific information regarding climate
change, both general and public policy specific. It currently has 195 members and thousands of
contributors.
In its first report since 2018 on global warming, the IPCC has come to several conclusions. It
talks about the stark reality of climate change being the most immediate threat to life on earth. It
states that based on current policies, countries will fail to meet the goals set in the Paris Accord
of 2015 to limit global warming to 1.5-2℃ above pre-industrial levels.
A temperature rise could mean the end of normalcy (however relative) on earth. Every coral reef
system will disappear due to the temperature change, wiping out entire species of aquatic life
with it. Several crops, including staple foods such as rice and maize, would become harder to
grow and could cause global food shortages.
Melting ice sheets could change the composition of entire oceans and shift common fishing
areas, making living conditions harder for a lot of marine animals, changing the direction of
currents, and inevitably, weather patterns and seasons.
A study published on nature.com shows that the world is becoming more prone to floods as a
result of global warming and that millions more will experience a flood for the first time due to
rising water levels.
Around 90% of increased flooding was observed in South and South-East Asia. At least 17.9
million new people will be prone to floods by 2030, and at least 25 new countries will experience
floods for the first time.
Greenland’s ice sheets are melting at record rates. And to add to that, 2020 was deemed
“exceptionally hot” and concluded as the warmest decade in history. Putting these together, it is
evident that the more we allow ice caps to melt, the worse off our planet will be.
85% of all energy is to come from renewable sources. This would mean a collective, global
requirement of at least 7 million km² of land for energy crops. To give some context, the entire
landmass of Australia is 7.6 million km².
Apart from reducing your individual carbon footprint by recycling, using sustainable materials,
reusing items, reducing resource wastage, switching to cleaner energy, and so on, hold your
leaders accountable.
The government is largely responsible for ensuring that public policy focuses on combating
climate change. You can write to your MP/ Governor/ Mayor/ any other local leader about the
changes that need to be implemented or join or form organizations that can effectively lobby for
change.
Ensure that limits are placed on large corporations (Did you know only 100 companies are
responsible for 71% of the world’s carbon emissions?) and get your local leader to switch the
major energy source of your locality to a cleaner one, which is incidentally also more cost-
efficient.
To sum it all up, the world is getting hotter, and with rising temperatures come rising sea levels.
This leads to major changes in the number of flood-prone areas (and people), food supply,
aquatic life, and even the schedule of seasons.
We don’t have a lot of time to solve it, and the governments of the world are to be held
responsible. We need more green laws and policies, and we also need to do our bit. The changes
must be implemented fast since we might reach the point of no return as early as 2030, and while
it doesn’t come cheap, it is undoubtedly the best investment for the future of the world.