Daily Times

Going by alarm bells sounded by prominent climate activists, 2023 is set to become the hottest year on record. They proclaimed, “We are afraid of the uncharted territory that we have now entered.” With excessive heat warnings lining the weather apps, the unprecedented scale of wildfires burning all across the world and sheer devastation brought upon by unrelenting floods and earthquakes, we do not need science to reaffirm the writing on the wall.

Climate change is upon us and things have come to a point where the survival of mankind appears to dash towards the final Armageddon. Year after year, the increasing severity of these climatic-induced disasters surprises us as we deplore the losses incurred. However, one or two rounds of headlines are enough for the collective attention to drift away to something more personal.

It took wildfires burning over 468,000 hectares for the European countries to realise how ferocious mother nature can be. Even after an orange haze surrounded New York and a freaky downpour suspended life, a large number of Americans still believe that they did not contribute towards the present state of affairs. Amid swirling research refuting the greenhouse phenomenon and a staunch belief in “my way or the highway,’ the international community is brimming with people who do not wish to sideline their individual wants.

No matter where one may stand on the spectrum, everyone would have to fight the battle together. No qualms about that. There cannot be a dissonance between a belief in climate change or the profound regret over heart-wrenching losses and the need for action. If citizens in the developed world have to force their representatives to think about the scale of their carbon footprint, those in developing countries need to raise the flag of resilient schemes.

Economic prosperity cannot be pursued without considering the sustainability of the model. Advocating for the environment more than finances or the well-being of the top one per cent could be a step in the right direction. *