Earth In Peril

Dixya Poudel

Dashain 2079 was celebrated amidst unseasonal rainfall. Mostly during the time of Dashain, the weather is sunshine and slight breeze but the rain didn’t let up until the last days of Dashain. Such unusual weather has been related to the climate change which is becoming a norm, alarming scientists and meteorologists who are extremely concerned over the rising temperature due to increased carbon emissions.

Scientists use the term Anthropocene to tentatively indicate the current human influenced geological epoch. In geology, an epoch refers to a segment of a period in the geologic time scale of the earth. It was the biologist Eugene Stoermer who coined the word Anthropocene, although it hasn’t yet been formally approved. As such, Anthropocene is an era rife with human activities that has resulted in a climate crisis. At present, the worsening climate change hasn’t just affected the atmospheric weather, it has also led to adverse effect on the biodiversity, rising sea level, ocean acidification and species extinction.

In fact, scientists are worried over the sixth extinction as a result of human activities. So far the world has seen five mass extinctions and now the sixth one looms large. Climate related crises aren’t a novel occurrence. In the 1980s, climate activists raised voices over the ozone layer that had been depleting particularly over the Antarctica. It led to widespread rallies and eventually CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbon) generating products such as solvents, propellants and refrigerants were banned. According to the Montreal Protocol agreed in 1987, such CFCs were to be phased out for the protection of the ozone layer. Thanks to the collaborative effort, ozone layer is in the mend. It showed the world that such global crisis could be tackled. 

However, similar international solidarity effort is lacking in the current climate change crisis.

Politicians worldwide are either raging wars or ruling tyrannically in a bid to garner their own selfish devices. They seem to give little to no thought in securing the earth’s environment, the very one that they depend on for their survival. Even in the democratic nations, there seem to be a lack in steps towards tackling climate crisis effectively. According to the Paris Agreement, the global warming should be limited to well below 2 degree Celsius, preferably below 1.5 degree Celsius. 

As the global warming continues its menace, there have been certain measures to check the carbon emissions, hence the net zero by 2030. Could it then be possible to achieve net zero? Climate activists like Greta Thunberg have slammed the superficiality of net zero emissions. It thus remains to be seen that net zero doesn’t just remain a number in paper and that the world will act in solidarity. One can hope that nations will adopt environment friendly protocols to safeguard their one and only home which is the planet earth. 

Climate change has brought with it extreme weather with increasing wildfires, landslides and floods at unusual frequencies costing lives and properties. Today, the earth is at a precarious juncture that requires immediate attention. It is about time the world leaders woke up to the reality of the planet that is at a grave peril. Thus, the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference should frame on effective policies to mitigate climate crisis that has been instigated by heedless human activities.