CONFRONTING CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is and will effect all aspects of all our lives. It is undeniable (unless, like me you are in the USA...where the denial seems to be pervasive). It is blatantly obvious. Even if you deny science, you can see it in the shifting patterns of habitats, rainfall, floods, droughts and the increase of natural disasters, higher sea levels and extreme weather. It impacts our lives our lives because of the implications for biodiversity (loss), agriculture and food production, the increase of disease (human health), extreme weather (threat for where we live--especially if we live in coastal towns like Cork or Port au Prince).

Today, I attended an event hosted by the Columbia University Climate Center and the Consulate of Denmark titled ' Revitalizing the Debate'. The distinguished expert speakers (academics, and private/ public sector professionals) all stressed that the problem needs to be approached from a myriad of angels to be effectively tackled due to its widespread impact. They noted that humanity as a species has begun to adapt to climate change (and will continue to do so). Yet it is not enough. We need to develop strategies to cope with current and future risks. It has to be our choice and we have to decide the terms with which we will embrace this challenge efficiently.

The problem is there. The problem is growing. It is an identified risk. It is not a risk that can or should be ignored. There is always uncertainty surrounding risk. However, it is clear that Climate Change is a risk factor that is increasing. Do you really want to wait until it is a crisis before we act?

I do not. I believe that climate change can and needs to be reversed. We have the technology. People know about it. We have the capacity. We can build our resiliency to the risks involved.  So, why aren't we?



You don't need me (or an expert) to tell you that the world is at a critical crossroads. We are using the uncertainty about future projections to deny there is a problem, we are in denial that there is a cost effective solution, we are refusing to accept that we can make a lasting or useful change. We are using the uncertainty about possible projections to avoid dealing with it. If climate change was a relationship....it would be a toxic one. Humanity is like a intelligent, gorgeous, sexy, sweet, caring, funny, young woman who knows that her loser boyfriend is cheating on her sleeping with prostitutes or having one night stands, but is a stupid ostrich refusing to deal with the possible fall out or possible STDs in-case the guy comes to his senses and realizes he loves you all along (or in-case it was all a misunderstanding). Relationships don't work that way. So, why do we expect this mess to be any better?

The world has the knowledge, ability, technology, resources and capacity to raise living standards in a sustainable way. Humanity's most urgent problem is climate change. We keep trying to treat the symptoms--waste management, sustainable consumption and production, environmental degradation, pollution, and green house emissions. But we are just masking the real growing darker cancerous core that will lead to our eventual death.

There are practical solutions. A combination of adaptation, incentives, infrastructure, fundamental transformation of behaviour (institutional as well as societal).

There are good reasons for implementing the solutions. Governments can save billions (or trillions) of dollars by reducing energy waste, global security will increase (due to a reduction of tensions due to an increase of self supply of energy needs), millions of jobs can be created worldwide (both increasing government incomes and decreasing unemployment), it will improve the quality of living (health due to clearer air, water etc), and most importantly, in Ambassador Jarl Frijs-Madsen (Consul General of Denmark) words, it will "save the environment".
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An article by Poul Krugmann in The New York Times goes behind some of the economic debate and theory behind climate change. It among other things argues that reducing carbon emissions can be looked upon as a public investment project and that the costs of doing something are almost known and manageable. 
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An article written by Saba Loftus for the website Sustainableyouth outlines how youth can get involved, how I have and how you can make a difference.
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Read the Danish Commission on Climate Change's most recent report.