Climate change was thought to be a hoax a few years ago, not anymore. Around the world, people have felt the unusual climate change in one form or the other. Very recently, in Canada (especially British Columbia and Alberta), we have experienced a very strong heat wave, drought, heavy rains, floods, and landslides, all within a very short span of time - killing people and disturbing life for many others. Now, we all know that it is here to stay and will worsen if not abated. The earth has crossed its limit of adaptation, and consequently, the temperature is rising. It is this rise in temperature which may cause havoc for humanity. The big question is how to deal with it?
Everybody was looking at COP26 with the hope that a great plan will come out of this meeting to deal with rising temperature, but nothing of sort happened. What I heard and saw at COP26, made me divide the world populace into three broad categories:
People who are protesting and creating awareness (like Greta Thunberg). They think that we do not have much time to waste, and we should take a quick and tangible action as early as possible.
People who are planning, making policies, and setting up new timelines (policy makers, and politicians like Barak Obama). They think that it is a huge problem and can be dealt with in a phased manner only. They want to take time till all the policies, programs, and resources get aligned as per the new scenario.
The third category of people is the common man - the voter, the consumer, who is watching (the whole drama) from the sidelines.
Yes, there is no denying the fact that the problem of climate change is huge (and very real). People are thinking of reversing the climate change, which has never happened in the history of human civilization. Man’s journey to the Moon seems much easier than attaining this tall order. All the policies, programs, strategies put forward till date (carbon tax, phasing out of coal, cap and trade, development of renewable energy, etc.) have worked somewhere, contributed a little, but not everywhere, not 100 per cent. Given the scale of the problem (huge emissions, varied effects of climate change, shortage of climate finance, lack of credibility and transparency), I have come to the conclusion that the things will change but rather slowly (than we would ideally want). Some casualties will also happen here and there. COP26, at least, has catalyzed the level of ambition – the world leaders are now aware that they cannot avoid this fight against climate change, and many companies are making sustainability a part of their business processes. In the meantime, the common man is also getting engaged, making some healthy choices at the individual and community levels, which will help deal with climate change up to some extent. But our homework is much bigger and varied – we will have to:
raise plants/trees,
reduce consumption of wood and wood products,
bring reusable tote bag for grocery,
refill a reusable water bottle rather than buying a disposable one,
reduce energy consumption and wastage (e.g., use bike or public transport),
use energy-efficient products,
buy from those companies which practice sustainability,
elect political candidates who represent all constituents after election rather than only those who voted for them, and keep a watch on these leaders after election,
make the right use of education, knowledge, information, and technology for decision making.
Key difference between wanting change and making it happen is accountability! Let’s all hold each other accountable for adding even 10% more sustainable thinking in our lifestyle, and watch the compounding effect work at its best.
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