climate crisis country, race, It is killing everyone without any distinction of religion and caste, taking them towards destruction but it has still not become an issue for the countries and leaders.
The year 2024 is making records. There are reports of extreme heat and destructive storms every day. People’s lives and means of livelihood seem to be collapsing like a stack of cards. There were times during the summer season this year when destruction of everything seemed almost inevitable. Along with seasonal madness, there is also an increase in diseases. Diseases are strange and unnatural. Recently our family doctor told that this type of dengue is spreading in which not only the number of platelets decreases but also fever comes for one day and after that it does not come for several days and SGPT and SGOT (two hormones that indicate the condition of the liver) increase. There is a sharp increase in the level. Therefore, if you have fever today, please get yourself tested tomorrow. It is not right to take risks.
This is a period of very complex situations. And no one is ready to take seriously the root cause of these complications – climate change. It is neither mentioned in political debates nor in election discussions. The climate crisis was not a topic of discussion during our general election last summer. These days, elections are being held in two states, but no big or small political party or any of its leaders has said anything about this. Maharashtra is one state that has faced the devastating impact of climate change – from frequent droughts in rural areas to floods in urban areas. But even there jobs, reservation, free grains and communalism are the main issues. If we talk on a larger canvas, Trump’s re-election has cast a dark cloud of uncertainty over COP29 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) and future climate conferences.
Right now is that time of the year when leaders, scientists, industrialists, officials of voluntary organizations and workers from all over the world are gathering in Baku city of Azerbaijan to think about your and our future on earth. As they sip pure water and pure wine, they contemplate reducing greenhouse gas emissions to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
This COP meeting is important because the issue of raising funds and investment will be before the delegates. In 2009, $100 billion was allocated for climate change related work over the next 15 years. The limit on spending this allocation will expire at the end of 2024. It is clear that there is a need to provide funds to developing countries to develop green energy sources and cope with a relatively warming planet. And right now there is no provision of funds for this.
There is little hope of any major agreement. Bitterness has already dissolved in the COP. Papua New Guinea has announced it will boycott COP29, saying ‘it is a waste of time’. His argument is that ‘countries that emit large amounts of polluting gases year after year are failing to live up to their promises. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron are also likely to not attend the conference. There is a fear that the big decisions of the leaders who were expected will not be taken. Apart from this, the impact of the victory of Donald Trump will also be visible who calls climate change as ‘an empty threat’ and it is expected that as soon as he assumes the office of the President, he will repeat the decision taken in his previous term of withdrawing America from the historic Paris Agreement. . A few days ago, a recording of COP29 CEO Ilyur Soltanov, who is also Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Energy, was published in which he called for an agreement on the issue of further use of fossil fuels (mainly petroleum and coal) at the climate conference. Can be heard agreeing.
The climate crisis is a problem that affects everyone without distinction of race, religion and caste. Despite this, it has not become a burning issue, a matter of concern at the political level. The expenditure on climate change conferences is now becoming a burden. There will be no tough decisions in COP29. All that will happen is that various nations will agree to continue discussions further. Time is short and the flame of hope is fading. (Copy: Amrish Hardenia)