A stark contrast between how mankind found it, and what mankind has made it, the world seeks itself to be an avenue of deceit and mundane social failure, as it progresses and looks into the years and decades ahead.
On an ordinary desiccated morning, the air carried in the slight pinch of chill that October, lightning struck an offshoot branch, sparking an instantaneous flame. A flame that was to burn Australia and its prospects; depriving the commonwealth of its pristine figure among island nations. Charring in its way the oceanic array of forests and coral reefs, it awakened backlash for Australia’s much-needed climate reform.
The humdrum pale colours of the sky persisting upon the Australian horizon were what lit the path for a much-needed conversation on climate morality. Millions were rendered homeless and communities burned-burned to death-while the world continued its hustle-bustle to make use of the crashing health status of the Australian ecosystem.
But it’s not just the great outback. From Colorado to Europe, and even the middle east, wildfires and harsh climate conditions have taken over. The steadily increasing temperature of the earth has insidiously activated a number of weather patterns through rising sea levels, epochs of prolonged forest fires and droughts and unprecedented heatwaves. The consequences of failing to deal with the correct strategy and agility and the cost of taking immediate recovery plans: a mega-disaster is already in the offing.
What makes all this more ominous is the toll this is expected to take on developing countries in case they fail to immediately carry out restorative procedures and drop practices, which are further endangering the planet. Oxfam International reports that the projected cost of dealing with the consequences by developing nations would be a whopping $ 140-300 billion apiece. That’s a mean amount when considering the already-stressed budgets these countries have. It may be pertinent to mention here that apart from the above, potentially four times the normal rate of people displaced owing to climate disasters, might result. Currently, some 20 million people face displacement from their homes, due to natural disasters.
The humdrum pale colours of the sky persisting upon the Australian horizon were what lit the path for a much-needed conversation on climate morality.
The most recent Conference of the Parties (COP) held in Glasgow saw 200 nations come together to sign the Glasgow Climate Pact, wherein they have taken a pledge to take appropriate steps that may be needed respectively, to keep the global temperatures from exceeding the 1.5-degree temperature ceiling.
Climate Change has no doubt been a regressive stand on where economic outlooks are seeing each other tumble. A study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration found that global temperatures had soared since the 1960s, and reached a 1.5-degree numeral indifference, since the modern industrial revolution; sparking global pollution in each part of the planet.
Reports by both the EPA and the Administration go further to note the impacts of climate change on natural effects; causing a turbulent manifestation of a potential future. But there is so much more to the idea of climate change than meets the eye.
As the pace of change moves forward, people are facing the shockwaves of this pandemic of pollution and seeing their lives and livelihoods at equal crossroads. And it is facing them, not just socially, but economically, too.
Governments around the world are hearing the noise of global citizens, and are effectively acting upon it, to help curb the spread of an international climate catastrophe. One such measure, introduced by governments around the world, is the imposition of premiums on firms that do not show compliance with “green-friendly tools,” put in place by federal and local governments. While large companies can take the burden of these legislative authorities, it is the small businesses that see themselves crushed under strict laws. Laws are put in place to help mitigate a crisis caused by an accumulative factor of humanity.
A ripple effect of the burden-unemployment numbers are also seeing themselves soar with two in five people citing environmental indignation as a direct cause for their economic incapacity. Nations themselves face the issue of opportunity cost, while needlessly delaying the cost of a climate crisis looming around the corner. The cap and trade rule, imposed in major industrial sectors in the US, is efficient in controlling CO2 emissions, while also carrying out effective fallacies for a sustainable future. So far, states like California and areas like New England, have made local legislation to put a cap on their local firms and force them to allay their emissions, and contributions to climate change, regressively.
Countries like Pakistan, where climate change has an extra tank of fuel, are accelerating into the warmer future and people are facing a demand-scarcity issue. With colder days down to 80 per season, folks have a foregone demand for consuming goods abetting their winter endeavours; leaving the gateway open for a local and international shortage.
Companies functioning locally are also subject to international laws, as they carry them forward throughout multiple jurisdictions. In 2012, the Kyoto treaty expired, noting the harmful effects of man-made CO2 emissions, and its factors influencing discovered demand. For example, if Pakistan were to sell its products in the European market, the firms producing the firms would have to reform their supply chain policies to construct a sustainable receipt of inundated compliance.
And as the world comes to a screeching stop, with the rise of multiple crises and wars alike, there is a certainty that people will have to de-rail their prospective ideas, based on the assumption that there are limited criteria for development.
Juan Abbas is a columnist and writer. Maryam Batool is a Chartered Accountant.
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