Climate change, a tree and me
The UN Climate Change Summit 2014 held in September was deemed a positive affair, it seems that both developing and developed nations are eager to co-operate towards the implementation of sustainable preventative measures against climate change. Over 100 Heads of State and government and private sector and civil society leaders addressed attendees, and expressed their commitment to urgent action preventing the global temperature rise from ascending beyond two degrees Celsius.
Climate change is described by The Guardian as ‘any process that modifies a climate system, but recently the phrase is most often used as shorthand for man-made global warming.’ Generally, scientists agree that humans are accelerating the observed warming, and that the major sources of our emissions can be attributed to heat and electricity generation, transport, industry, and agriculture.
Global warming has thus far experienced a rise of 0.75C which sounds small but has had some significant ramifications around the world with many disasters credited to or exacerbated by the phenomenon. Scientists are predicting that at the current rate of emission, the world will warm by up to 6.4C by 2100, relative to preindustrial levels. If a change of 0.75C has already culminated in such drastic results, then imagine what kind of disasters that level of warming could induce.
One of the biggest concerns for developing countries is that action to reduce emissions could harm prospective economic growth and poverty alleviation efforts. A number of speakers addressed these worries head on, suggesting measures for combatting climate change without slowing progress.
Other positive steps included the establishment of a Green Climate Fund, the US’s initiative to strengthen resilience efforts, China’s commitment to seeing the peak of its carbon dioxide fuels as early as possible, India’s dedication to wind and solar power and Costa Rica’s target of using 100% clean energy by 2016. Many developing countries also expressed a commitment to reforestation, and the need for a price on carbon emissions to be put in place was consistently emphasised. Civil society and businesses also came to the party, promising to raise $200 billion for climate change by the end of 2015.
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, ended the event with a rallying conclusion, “We must fulfil and expand on all the pledges and initiatives brought forward today. As we walk together on the road to Paris in December 2015, let us look back on today as the day we decided – as a human family – to put our house in order to make it liveable for future generations.” Paris 2015 has been set as the destination and time for a universal climate change agreement to be reached.
One thing that the summit proved was that pressure to alleviate climate change is coming from a grass-roots level up. The number of civilian participants in the march against climate change testifies to the fact that this is not an issue that people will allow to lie dormant. It is something that affects all of us so it is only right that we collectively fight for change. While governments and major civil society players work on delivering their promises, we can each do our part to reduce our individual carbon footprints.
We can ensure that our living and office environments are as eco-friendly as possible and we can also get involved with various tree-planting initiatives, such as Green Pop and Projects Abroad’s reforestation efforts in the Mangroves in Fiji, forests in the Galapagos Islands, Amazon rainforest in Peru and tropical dry forest in Costa Rica. Forest loss and changes in land use are estimated to account for 23% of today’s man-made CO2 emissions. Out of the 100 year warming impact of all current greenhouse-gas emissions, this is equivalent to 17%. Forests are vital for CO2 absorption, acting as ‘huge reservoirs of stored carbon’ according to The Guardian. When forests are burned or cut down, this CO2 is released into the atmosphere, adding to the harmful rise in greenhouse gases. When we plant trees, we’re effectively reversing this process, populating our planet with life-saving carbon absorbing vessels.
It’s clear that global warming is not going to be an easy issue to combat. It will take time, resources and collective commitment. In the meantime, it’s our responsibility to be accountable for our own carbon footprints. Go and plant that tree!
