The Tipping Point
A Call to Action
Today, many people have the notion that we still have enough time to fix this climate disaster. However, a previously leaked UN report says otherwise. The report paints the starkest image of the upcoming years of unlivable weather, widespread hunger, drought, rising sea levels that will force people to evacuate homes, and the extinction of many species. We have already started seeing effects of that in Pakistan, where people are suffering in high temperatures. Furthermore, China’s emissions have become greater than all developing countries combined. However, China isn’t the only contributor, the US is the largest emitter since the Industrial Revolution. With all these visible signs, many people are still not taking in the weight of these events. As Micheal Mann, a lead author of the IPCC’s 2001 report, told CNN, “Bottom line is that we have zero years left to avoid dangerous climate change because it’s here,”. To fully understand, we need to unpack this report and the information that it contains.
The images painted by this report are not ones of joy but of horror. However, I believe that we can try to tackle this issue using many different tactics. One major tactic being using large organizations and government bodies to facilitate major setbacks in emissions. According to Carbon Brief, “Moreover, temperatures are expected to remain steady rather than dropping for a few centuries after emissions reach zero, meaning that the climate change that has already occurred will be difficult to reverse in the absence of large-scale net negative emissions”. Without these major cutbacks in emissions, we will struggle to get on track with our emission goals for the future. Once we do this, we will already be one step toward our goal. Although, getting those major setbacks will not come easy. Large organizations and governments need to help with those major setbacks. Without their help and actions, we will have a much more difficult time.
As Mahatma Gandhi says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. We need to start changing our habits and hopefully inspire others to do the same. We need local governments and organizations with the power to take strong actions. Many companies do have a plan to become carbon-neutral, however, others are still trying to make the environment their first priority. Furthermore, delivery trucks are now coming through our neighborhood twice as often as they used to, polluting more into the air. We are trading convenience for the livelihood of our planet. Governments need to start taking stronger action by creating rigid policies around climate change and by meeting their climate goals. This needs to be our biggest priority, we can’t wait until 2030 anymore. Some things you can do starting from your community is to spread awareness. You can spread awareness by educating people about climate change and how their actions have an impact on the climate. By doing so, hopefully, we can influence politicians and business leaders to make change. We need to start the movement from small to large.
