By M K George

Rome: In Kerala, the state I grew up in, famously called ‘God’s own country,’ there used to be some regularities. Invariably on June 1, the day schools opened for a new academic year, it rained. As schoolchildren, we were delighted to get our new dress drenched. In the Syrian Christian tradition there was a saying that six elephants will come floating on the river on the Dukhrana day (July 3, feast of St. Thomas).

None of these is true now. The Shankhumukhom beach in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of the state where we have spent years of relaxed evenings, is no more there. It has been eaten up by the sea. Floods and droughts interchange at maddening speeds. God’s own country has become a Devil’s battlefield.

Climate change is real

Everyone, even the most uneducated, knows that there is a climate change. The recent floods in Germany, Belgium, the fires in the United States of America, in Italy, the Amazon fires, you look anywhere, and it is the severest warnings of a crisis.

Now, the latest report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a team of more than 200 scientists, has confirmed our common sense knowledge. The report says, “We now have a much clearer picture of the past, present, and future climate, which is essential for understanding where we are headed, what can be done, and how we can prepare…”

Some of the core findings of the report are:

1. Human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 0.8°C to 1.2°C. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.
2. Warming from anthropogenic emissions from the pre-industrial period to the present will persist for centuries to millennia and will continue to cause further long-term changes in the climate system, such as sea level rise, with associated impacts (high confidence), but these emissions alone are unlikely to cause global warming of 1.5°C.
3. Impacts on natural and human systems from global warming have already been observed. Many land and ocean ecosystems and some of the services they provide have already changed due to global warming.
4. Future climate-related risks depend on the rate, peak and duration of warming. In the aggregate, they are larger if global warming exceeds 1.5°C before returning to that level by 2100 than if global warming gradually stabilizes at 1.5°C, especially if the peak temperature is high (e.g., about 2°C) . Some impacts may be long lasting or irreversible, such as the loss of some ecosystems ( Cf. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/)

‘A Code red for humanity’

UN secretary general António Guterres says the IPCC’s latest findings are “a code red for humanity.” He added, “the alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk…Global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible…Unfortunately, we are not yet on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the threshold that scientists agree will prevent the most dangerous climate impacts. Failure to reach this goal will take a disproportionate toll on developing countries.”

The challenge

“There is a clear moral and economic imperative to protect the lives and livelihoods of those on the front lines of the climate crisis,” reminded Guterres. “If we combine forces now, we can avert climate catastrophe. But, as the IPCC report makes clear, there is no time for delay and no room for excuses. Unfortunately, we are not yet on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the threshold that scientists agree will prevent the most dangerous climate impacts. Failure to reach this goal will take a disproportionate toll on developing countries.”
Yes, that is the crucial findings. The toll on the developing countries, particularly the poor, as we observe in the coastal areas where poor fisher folk live, is the deadliest.

Guterres counts on government leaders and all stakeholders to reverse this trend of catastrophic climate change.

The role of the ordinary citizen

While the government leaders and other stakeholders may or may not respond to the call of the UN secretary general, what is the role of the ordinary citizen, you and me?

It is to realize that the agenda of most political leaders remain demonically anti-people and anti-earth. How else would you understand government leaders bypassing even the simplest measures of Environment Impact Analyses before development projects, freely granting tribal land over to corporates, changing labour laws to suit profit-making companies and the worst, silencing those who speak on behalf of the people?

Our role now is to study, discuss, debate, raise consciousness on matters of climate change and act locally. Pope Francis’ call on the Earth Day is a challenge to us. He said, “Listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, who suffer most because of the unbalanced ecology”.
We need to act together. ‘We will be more resilient when we work together instead of alone,” Pope Francis affirmed. And he warned us, “God always forgives, men forgive from time to time, nature no longer forgives.”