|
Combating global warming and climate change: A matter of urgency
2006-12-28 09:37:33
By Deodatus Mfugale
The United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP12) that was held in Nairobi in November this year was attended by approximately 100 ministers from across the world and more that six thousand participants.
The topics discussed ranged from adapting to climate change, financing carbon markets, implementation of the Kyoto Protocol to the role of the private sector in combating climate change in developing countries.
Yet even before the deliberations were over, the message that came strongly from the conference rooms was that of frustration at the slow progress to combat global warming and climate change.
A cross-section of the participants were of the opinion that all parties to the Kyoto Protocol; the rich and poor countries, the developed and developing countries alike, were not doing enough to combat climate change .
There were arguments that many rich countries which are also responsible for the emission of huge amounts of greenhouse gasses have fallen back on their commitments to reduce these emissions.
On the other hand, developed countries are allegedly slow in transferring modern technology to developing countries that would ensure cleaner production and so reduce the emissions in the latter.
Developing and poor countries also had their share of the blame for failing to take urgent measures to combat climate change.
There were arguments that producers in some of the countries were sceptical about changing to modern methods of production as this might involve heavy investments in terms of machinery and equipment that in turn might drain their profits.
Governments in poor and developing countries were also accused of being slow in taking measures to adapt to climate change with the result that their countries have suffered heavy consequences and retarded not only the pace of economic development but also thwarted their efforts to attain MDGs.
It was argued, for example, that thousands of hectares of forests are depleted every year due to farming and other human activities while the same could be spared as carbon sinks.
Shedding some light on the negative effects of deforestation for farming, logging or lumbering, the Director of Coalition of Forest Rich Nations, Kevin Conrad told journalists that in developing countries households cut one hectare of trees to gain 80 US dollars and at the same time releasing into the atmosphere 500 tons of carbon emissions.
’’But European countries are paying 7,500 US dollars to abate the same amount of carbon dioxide, which means that forests are worth more as carbon sinks than farms,’’ he noted.
He said that it is upon governments and other authorities in the poor countries to promote the carbon trade as a way of mitigating deforestation.
Yet carbon trading goes beyond protecting forests. It reduces pressure on both the forests and the land on which they grow; it protects the soil, water resources and wildlife habitat.
Promoting carbon trading therefore would lead to integrated water resources management and go a long way towards poverty reduction in the poor countries.
Carbon trading would also bring to a halt illegal and disorderly land grabbing by buccaneers and, in a way, protect the rights of the rural poor in benefiting from natural resources.
Carbon trading and deforestation apart, it is the general opinion of even world leaders that not enough is being done to combat climate change and mitigate its effects.
Addressing Nairobi Conference on November 15 this year, UN Secretary General Koffi Annan castigated people who still hold some clouds of doubt about climate change and its effects irrespective of scientific proof, calling them as ”out of step out of argument and out of time.’’
He said that scientific arguments not withstanding, events taking place in various parts of the world provide enough proof that climate change exists and the ”doubting Thomases” are only retarding progress to combat climate change.
Yes, there are some areas where there has been a positive change in precipitation without resulting into disasters. But as scientists have said, the impacts of climate change vary from one area to another with some cases going to extremes.
Prof. Paul Desanker of Penn State University, USA, says that in fact scientists are agreed upon on the greenhouse effect, the rate of increase in greenhouse gasses (carbon dioxide, methane etc) with very good direct measurements over the past 50 years showing a dramatic increase.
They are also agreed on the enhanced greenhouse effect leading to global warming and there is no controversy about this leading to climate change.
”In any case, absence of evidence is not absence of effect,” he stresses.
The absence of negative impacts on one part of the world does not mean that climate change is all hearsay.
That is why the UN Secretary General insisted that there should be no more talk of ’’waiting until we know more’’.
’’Even as we seek to cut emissions, we must at the same time do far more to adapt to global warming and its effects,’’ he stressed.
In a recent interview the Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office – Environment Prof Mark Mwandosya, acknowledged that climate change is a threat to every country and it is not only a problem of the poor.
”So every country must do all they can to combat climate change. In our case, we have taken a number of measures including evicting people from water sources, forest reserves and protected areas.
It takes a long time to turnaround a destroyed environment but the good signs are already evident in the Usangu Basin where various species of birds, animals and plants have reappeared following the measures,” he explained.
He stressed that Tanzania is a big country and as such, it will take a long time before the efforts pay off in every region.
The minister conceded that it needs combined efforts of the national and international community to turn around the environment situation.
’’The problem is that environmental problems know no administrative or any boundaries.
So what we are doing here might give positive results in another country just as the huge greenhouse gas emissions in the rich countries make us suffer the effects of climate change,’’ he explained.
Climate change confronts us now. Combating it needs urgent action by all parties even if some of them do not suffer its effects at the moment.
We have a short time to avert serious consequences of climate change so we must act now.
|
