Climate catastrophe is more real, nearer home than we think
The United Nations promoted Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has sounded an alarm—based on its last five years of work and research—that the Earth is likely to cross the critical threshold for global warming within the next decade. Temperatures have already touched 1.1°C above pre-industrial times, and the danger mark of 1.5°C is within sight. The UN body has made a desperate plea to nations to make an immediate and drastic shift away from fossil fuels to prevent the planet from overheating. While the likes of Donald Trump pooh-poohed moves to lower oil and coal usage, it is now proven that a shift in a single decimal point in the Earth’s temperature can determine whether or not a catastrophe in the form of heat waves, flooding, drought or crop failures will strike us.
India has been a serious participant in the international effort to limit climate change. It has committed itself to reaching zero-emission levels by 2070 and phasing out gasoline vehicles by 2030. However, outside the climate conferences, sceptical planners and politicians see climate projections as mere doomsday talk emanating from pesky jhola-wallahs. The change to greener options—solar, wind and hydroelectricity—has been slow, and coal continues to account for more than 70% of our power generation. Going forward, the government has set a target of producing 1 billion tonnes of coal in fiscal 2024, up from the current year’s estimated 700 million tonnes.
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Phasing out fossil fuels is also seen as ‘colonial’ talk by the West, which, after having polluted the Earth since the days of the Industrial Revolution, is now stopping the poorer, developing world from exploiting its natural resources. Though this charge has some truth, failure to stem environmental damage will ultimately lead to axing our own feet. Global warming has speeded up the melting of icecaps and glaciers, raising the ocean’s levels. The few inches of rise in water levels have churned up cyclones that have taken a huge toll on coastal communities.
Similarly, last summer, intense heat reaching 50°C in the North West killed crops in Punjab and later caused massive flooding in Pakistan. If we are to break this cycle of climate catastrophes, we will have to march in tandem with the rest of the world to reduce greenhouse emissions and rapidly phase out oil and coal-based energy.