We have a Responsibility to Deal with Climate Change Taiaba Pushpo

There are more upcoming dangerous catastrophes in the world than the Corona epidemic. The cause of this catastrophe is going to be environmental pollution and climate change. Seventy percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions over the previous two decades are attributable to just 100 fossil fuel producers. Climate change is gradually getting out of control as a result of environmental pollution. The earth’s temperature is rising rapidly. Polar ice is melting. Sea and river water are exceeding the danger line. The lowlands are sinking. Natural disasters like heavy rains, floods and cyclones are increasing, fires are increasing. But it’s also important to acknowledge that allocating emissions to someone – the extractors of fossil fuels, the manufacturers who make products using them, the governments who regulate these products, the consumers who buy them – does not necessarily mean saying they are responsible for them. Millions of people are being displaced from their homes. Such concerns have been expressed in the World Bank’s updated Grounds Wells report. The World Bank report says that the catastrophe will start in the world in 2030. It will take a terrible shape in 2050.

Due to the climate in South Asia at the time four crore people will be immigrants. Half of them will be Bangladeshi. Another survey found that air travel would increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by another two percent over the next 20 years. As a result, environmental scientists believe that the disaster will appear more quickly. According to a World Bank report, 217 million people will be homeless in the next three decades due to climate change. International lender institutions have warned that this would be the case if urgent steps were not taken to reduce carbon emissions and reduce inequality of resources around the world.
The report is detrimental to tackle this crisis. Encouragement has been given to reduce gas emissions and sustainable development. As a result, it is possible to reduce the rate of immigration up to 60 percent. According to the latest research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we have less than 11 years to make the transformation necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would have to be cut by 45 percent by 2030 to prevent global warming above 1.5°C – in other words, the threshold at which the worst impacts of climate change could be averted. According to AP and Al Jazeera, the World Bank has recently released a ‘Groundswell’ report. It says climate change is causing water shortages, declining crop production and rising sea levels. The agency fears that by 2050, millions of people in six regions could become ‘climate migrants’. If the situation is not under control, the horrible situation will start by 2030, which will get out of control by 2050. Latin America, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Asia and the East Asia and Pacific region are at risk. On the other hand, even if all climate-friendly initiatives are taken, including reducing carbon emissions, inclusive economy and sustainable development, at least 44 million people will be forced to leave their homes.

In 1989, the World Environment Day slogan was “Global Warming; Global Warning”; and in 1991, the World Environment Day slogan was “Climate Change Need for Global Partnership”. World Health Organization (WHO) is also initiating a campaign against climate change. According to a World Bank study, sub-Saharan Africa is considered the most vulnerable region due to its fragile coastline and population dependence on agriculture in the worst case scenario of climate change, and the number of migrants will be higher than this region. Now 88 million people are migrating from one place to another within the borders of the country. However, the number of climate migrants in North Africa will not be less. One crore nine million people are migrating to the climate, which is about nine percent of the total population. As the water crisis intensifies in northeastern Tunisia, northwestern Algeria, western and southern Morocco, and the central Atlas, so many people are migrating here.

According to the report, 35.7 million people may be climate migrants in South Asia. Half of the climate migrants in South Asia will be Bangladeshis. About 20 million people in the country are at risk of migration by 2050 if floods and crop production are damaged without urgent action. The number of women will be more. One crore 33 lakh people in the coastal areas of the country are at risk of migrating due to climate change. The report warns that immigration hotspots could appear within the next decade. And by 2050, it could be even more intense. This requires urgent planning to help the areas where the climate migrants will relocate and those who will be in the areas they have left behind. Uncontrolled disasters will come down from the next decade if we do not act quickly.
According to a survey released by the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the effects of climate change are increasing natural disasters around the world, threatening people’s lives. Besides, the economic loss is also increasing. Scientists have repeatedly warned about climate change and its dangers, but there is no frown on humans. Instead of protecting the environment, everyone is busy with environmental pollution. The earth is threatened, and the human being is in danger of disappearing? Altogether to fight against climate change, whatever the country, religion, and differences. The land belongs to us, but we also belong to it! According to a UN survey, 2 million people have died in natural disasters in 50 years. According to Reuters, the survey was conducted by analyzing data from 11,000 natural disasters that occurred between 1989 and 2019. In the seventies, there was an average of 600 disasters, but in 2010 it increased to over three thousand. The WMO said, “Floods, storms and droughts have killed more people in the past few years”. The number of victims of natural disasters and the amount of financial losses is increasing day by day. This year alone, the highest temperatures have been recorded in many parts of the world.
The survey says the 50-year-old weather picture is a warning to us. Ethiopia’s drought has killed more than 300,000 people in the last 20 years. Hurricane Katrina caused a loss of 12,500 crore rupees. However, the number of casualties has decreased despite the increase in the amount of damage. The WMO says natural disasters killed an average of more than 50,000 people each year in the 1970s. 2021 recorded devastating extreme weather and climate events – a signature of human-induced climate change has been identified in the extraordinary North American extreme heat and west European floods. However, in the last 10 years, the number of deaths has come down to 16,000 per year. The secretary general of the organization said “This is due to the improvement in the natural disaster warning system”.

However, while the news of a reduction in the number of deaths due to disasters is positive, it is quite alarming for developing countries. Because in the last 50 years, 91 percent of the 2 million deaths have occurred in developing countries.
Fortunately, climate change is solvable. We have the technologies. We have the science. We now need the leadership—and the courage to change course. Becoming more energy efficient is a great way to prevent pollution. It causes the power plants to expend less energy that can lead to the production of greenhouse gasses. We must make sure to turn off lights and unplug devices that you are not using anymore when you are done with them and we should replace our light bulbs with energy-efficient light bulbs to help you save electricity too. Manufacturing plants emit a large number of greenhouse gasses per year. Recycling is a cost-effective and eco-friendly process that eliminates waste and doesn’t emit greenhouse gasses into the environment. So be sure to collect your discarded paper, glass, plastic, and electronics from your local recycling center. Renewable energy is better than utilizing fossil fuels. We can join a social movement or campaign that focuses on environmental activities or gets everyone talking about climate change action. We should eat fewer or smaller portions of meat, try to choose fresh, seasonal produce that is grown locally to help reduce the carbon emissions from transportation, preservation and prolonged refrigeration.

We’ll need to reach “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner. Net zero means that, on balance, no more carbon is dumped into the atmosphere than is taken out. To achieve net zero emissions, we need a massive transformation in how we produce and consume electricity. We need a newer, better transportation system. We need to stop deforestation. We need a climate-friendly agricultural system. Planting trees is very important, The Woodland Trust is aiming to plant 64 million trees over the next 10 years – and they need our help. So we can create our own green space. Ultimately, steps to reduce carbon emissions will have a positive impact on other local issues, like improving air quality and public health, creating jobs and reducing inequality.

Taiaba Pushpo is a student of Department of sociology Jagannath University. She can be reached at “atp1998dec@gmail.com”