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The Greater
Caribbean This Week: Global Warming Today |
By: Dr Watson
Denis, Political Advisor of the Association of Caribbean
States.
 October
22, 2007, Global
warming today proves, if proof were needed, that the world
has always been a global village. We are all connected to
one another, from one end of the world to the other.
Moreover, this phenomenon calls on us all to act to
stabilise the atmosphere by at least 1° C in the years to
come.
Today, weather phenomena are striking hard. For example in
2003, the world saw its hottest year for 500 years. This
heat wave caused thousands of deaths in Europe. In December
2004, there was the Tsunami in South East Asia that caused
the deaths of 273,435 people and caused considerable
material damage to the road and tourist infrastructure. We
could also mention Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and the
Gulf of Mexico, whose intense sea surges and winds knocked
over the barriers and defences of the city of New Orleans.
1836 people died and material damages were put at billions
of dollars. In the Caribbean region, in July 2004, a
torrential downpour, followed by landslides, killed nearly
2000 people in the city of Les Gonaïves (Haiti). The
phenomenon was so surprising that the local population
called it a deluge, referring to the deluge mentioned in the
Bible at the time of Prophet Noah. We can now understand
that this deluge was one of the manifestations of the
Earth’s warming up at that time. |
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Landslides,
devastating forest fires, powerful hurricanes, violent
storms, devastating earthquakes, tidal waves, prolonged
droughts, invasions of destructive insects… have become
commonplace. More and more we are caught off guard by these
events, which are becoming more and more violent and
destructive. These so-called natural disasters spare nobody.
Whether you are a rich State or poor country, hegemonic
powers or subaltern countries, natural phenomena of various
kinds strike indiscriminately.
Every day there is a new fact or piece of evidence, telling
us that the climate has changed. We are in the middle of
climate change and its manifestations are palpable, visible
and sometimes deadly.
The earth’s atmosphere has changed significantly. In the
course of the 20th century, the temperature increased by
0.74 degrees centigrade. The sea level also rose by 17 cm.
Flora and fauna are affected: 20 to 30% of plants and
animals are in danger of extinction. And of particular
concern is the melting of the polar glaciers at an
accelerated rate, which increases the heat of the
atmosphere. This has also changed rainfall patterns. In
temperate zones, out of season snowfalls and unexpected
precipitation have become common, causing flooding
sometimes. Concurrently in the tropical zones rainfall is
declining, giving way to drought and famine. In these
tropical regions access to water has become a question of
daily survival, public security, and in many situations,
this question has strong political implications, considering
that agriculture is compromised and that the food security
of many millions of people is at stake.
The situation of the Caribbean islands is as delicate as in
the rest of the world. The rise in sea levels remains the
major worry. Global warming, which causes violent weather,
hurricanes and cyclones, against which they cannot always do
much alone, increases their physical vulnerability and
consequently, their economic and financial substantiality.
Since the 1970s, hurricanes have become very frequent in the
region. They find favourable conditions to grow and spread
and often leave behind them a trail of death and
destruction.
Global warming is a growing phenomenon, on the planetary
scale and over several years, of the average temperature of
the oceans and the atmosphere. This phenomenon is the result
jointly of oceanic expansion and of the uncontrolled action
of mankind on its environment. The Earth is heating up with
the expulsion of the gases it holds. If in the first days of
the Earth, warming was necessary for life to flourish (500
millions years of this), today’s warming is excessive. The
last ten years have been the hottest of the last 2000 years.
This warming is due to the strong increase in the atmosphere
of several greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide,
chlorofluorocarbons, methane and nitrogen dioxide.
In general terms, global warming is explained by two types
of problems: 1) The hole in the ozone layer; the sun’s rays
are not adequately filtered. 2) The excess in carbon dioxide
(CO2) In normal doses, CO2 is vital, when there is too much,
it heats up the earth with all the pollution that comes with
it. When we recognise that the levels of CO2 have increased
from 1990 to today, we can imagine the rate of increase in
global warming!
Global warming causes the melting of polar glaciers, rises
in sea levels, absolute humidity, droughts, precipitations,
uncontrolled snow cover, an excess in tornadoes, frequent
floods, the disappearance of animal and plant species, the
continued increase in temperature and even the complete
disappearance of certain terrains in certain countries. In
the future we will speak of climate refugees, if the
estimated increases in temperatures for the 21st century (an
increase of 1.8 to 3.4° C) come to pass.
Today, it is the time for action, considering the extent of
the damage already registered and the calamities to come.
Fortunately we have begun to become aware of the situation
and to take action accordingly. Thus on 24th September 2007,
the Secretary General of the United Nations called all the
political leaders of the world, Heads of State and of
government, to New York, to a high–level meeting, to debate
the question. The address by Mr. Ban Ki-moon at the meeting
was an emergency call. Basing his speech on the results of
scientific research and the observation that we should do
all we can with regard to the most dramatically changing
ecological phenomena, he then invited the leaders to accept
their historical responsibility asking them to take measures
in their sphere of action and influence and to propose
solutions to remedy the situation.
Also the Nobel Peace Prize awarded jointly on 12th October
to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on
Climate Change— a Secretariat formed by experts from the
World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) —is another decision of
the Nobel Prize Committee at Oslo which incites reflection
and action. To link current environmental problems to peace
in the world is quite innovative. More than that, the
awarding of this prize to Gore and the climate group is a
clear indication that global warming is a serious and
universal problem, and it could compromise, now or in the
future, world peace.
While recognising that global warming today is not a new
phenomenon, that it has happened before—in effect, climate
experts agree that the Earth has known many warm and cold
cycles over the last 400,000 years—it is imperative that we
act quickly, to lessen, at least, the consequences and the
potential damage. If nothing is done, global warming will be
an even more dramatic reality in the decades to come. In our
global village, it has become a matter of action, choice and
responsibility.
If everyone, the governments and institutions responsible,
work towards the resolution of the problem, we are sure that
we will achieve quite satisfactory results. In this sense,
we can make a case for Adaptation (the stabilisation of the
concentration of the greenhouse gases which are the main
cause of the problem) for 2015, and Mitigation (in terms of
positive action for energy security, environmental
protection and sustainable development). This is an
environmental, political, economic, and security project,
that concerns every one of us to some extent and which will
set out the way forward in a less uncertain direction for
future generations. In this light, all the partners of the
cause and the participants of the UN Conference on Climate
Change will convene in Bali, Indonesia next December, to
adopt a satisfactory multilateral framework agreement which
could contribute to making life on earth more clement. |
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