On the broken record of climate policy intentions and broken records of climate change

Forest fires (photo by Egor Vikhrev)

We share this small planet with eight billion other people and uncountably more animals and plants. In a world with responsible management of production and consumption, there should be enough resources to support all of us, allowing for a happy, secure, and harmonious existence. 

But we lack the system, the governance, and the mentality to do so, which leads, for instance, to shocking predictions by experts of the Word Resources Institute that worldwide, there will be a 56% gap between the amount of food available today and that required by 2050.

The reality of our predicament is reflected in a myriad of graphs showcasing exponential growth. Whether it's the extraction of resources, waste production, or the proliferation of fast-food restaurants worldwide, all illustrate a pattern of unchecked expansion. Meanwhile, if we were to add a graph representing the size of our planet, it would remain constant. It's a reminder that we inhabit a finite world.

The implications of infinite growth on a finite planet are evident. The climate crisis magnifies this issue, as the excessive greenhouse gas emissions we produce increasingly impact our living conditions. 

Carbon Brief recently made a fascinating and scary visualization, showing how much the world's most populated regions have been affected by extreme heat in the past ten years. The image below is a screenshot, but this interactive page gives far more information.

Nearly 40 percent of the world experienced record heat in the past ten years (source: Carbon Brief, see link in text above and notes)

With our short-sighted arrogance in the brief time that our species will rule this small beautiful planet, we leave trails of destruction that will still be scrutinized by far superior forms of life hundreds of millions of years from now, not unlike the way our best scientists have studied the previous five great extinctions. 

I remember the posters on my classroom wall of extinct dinosaurs in those days, still without an incoming asteroid in the background. I wonder if intelligent future species may someday teach their kids using posters highlighting our geological legacy. So instead of showcasing cultural marvels like the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Mona Lisa, or John Lennon, I imagine that poster will show oil production, smokestacks, bio-industry, and plastics dumped into the oceans.

Recent events further emphasize the urgency of our situation. Upon returning from his 17th ascent of Mount Everest, the renowned climber Kenton Cool lamented the mountain's diminishing snow and the transformation of its once majestic landscape into a "dry and rocky" terrain. He climbed Mount Everest for the first time in 2004 and now sadly reported that the mountain appears to be drying.

If you followed the news this week, you may remember the hundreds of deaths and more than 5000 people missing in the Democratic Republic of Congo after the country was hit by intense floods and landslides. I hope you do remember; I know the DRC is far away. Five thousand are missing; I just do my job in my media niche to ensure you won't forget them by repeating this horrible number. And who followed the news on Cyclone Macha that battered Bangladesh and Myanmar? It predominantly impacted refugee camps and led to the evacuation of half a million individuals.

The frequency and severity of wildfires are unmistakable signs of the times we live in. This week witnessed devastating wildfires scorching through the Ural Mountains in Russia, destroying numerous homes. Concurrently, the Canadian province of Alberta grappled with its own wildfires, blanketing cities in smoke and displacing thousands of people from their homes.

These incidents only contribute to the growing number of internally displaced people worldwide, a trend researched by The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva. It recently reported a record-high 71.1 million internally displaced individuals, primarily due to conflicts and climate change-related disasters. The displacement crisis in Ukraine, which alone accounts for 17 million displaced people, underscores the profound impact of these issues. Last year, a staggering 32.6 million displacements resulted from natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and landslides.

At the core of the planetary crisis we face lies a crisis of governance. Overcoming these challenges requires a collective effort, mutual trust, and a refusal to squander any more time. So it is telling that, while the leaders of the Wealthy Group of Seven (G7) countries convened and acknowledged the importance of climate action (while including host-requested language in the summit's final communiqué that blesses continued investment in certain types of coal-fired plants), two of them had to shorten their planned visits. 

One had to return to Italy, where the changing climate leaves its fingerprints everywhere, and a flood emergency takes its toll. The other was needed in Washington for a crisis that shouldn't be one: lifting an artificially set debt ceiling. The rest of the world wonders why you put a top on commitments you already agreed to; imagine the chaos if you would try such a policy in your household. So the crises in climate and governance were center stage.

As the rich countries press the poorer nations to repay their debts, a groundbreaking analysis published in One Earth reveals a startling truth. The world's top fossil fuel companies owe a minimum of $209 billion annually as climate reparations. This debt should compensate the communities most devastated by their polluting practices and decades of deceit. In another study presented by Oxfam, it is concluded that the G7 countries owe low- and middle-income nations an astounding $13.3 trillion in unpaid aid and climate action funding. 

Despite failing to meet their obligations, the G7 countries and their affluent bankers demand that the Global South countries pay $232 million daily in debt repayments through 2028. Oxfam rightly highlights that this money could have been utilized for healthcare, education, gender equality, social protection, and addressing the impacts of climate change.

The planetary crisis we face reflects the urgent need for better governance. It demands collective responsibility, equitable distribution of resources, and an unwavering commitment to sustainable practices. We simply can not afford to lose any more time. The future of all life forms on our small planet hangs in the balance, and we are reminded daily of the urgency. I sincerely hope we can overcome the barriers of greed and short-sightedness and build a world that embraces our shared responsibility to protect and preserve our only home, the name-giver of this publication.

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Notes:

https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/half-global-population-saw-all-time-record-temperatures-over-past-decade/

https://www.reuters.com/world/number-internally-displaced-people-hits-record-due-war-climate-change-2023-05-11/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Sustainable-Switch&utm_term=051223

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/britains-record-holding-climber-says-everest-is-dry-more-rocky-2023-05-20/?taid=646903b72329750001ca3045&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/g7-owes-huge-13-trillion-debt-global-south

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/19/fossil-fuel-firms-owe-climate-reparations-of-209bn-a-year-says-study?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

https://research.wri.org/wrr-food

photo: Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash