Delay will not win the war against climate change
Seasons have shifted. It is getting hotter. It is getting even more unpredictable. You sow and sometimes you reap. Sometimes you sit and hope some of your efforts, just some of them, will bear fruit. The earth is old, sacred, resilient and powerful. Its breathtaking forces, in whose presence even the mighty shake like infants, wipe out populations in seconds: earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, geysers, volcanoes and landslides. Then there is global warming. Its magnitude, albeit different, is comparable to the geological forces that shaped the earth. It is slow and silent, creeping in, but it is sure, unrelenting and as mighty a force as the rest. Its root cause is the excess greenhouse gases resulting from anthropogenic or human activities, related to the use of fossil fuels. As we all live under the burden of a warming earth, world leaders have come together to develop a plan to halve greenhouse gases by 2050. Doing so means cutting back on the use of fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry has long been the cornerstone upon which many economies have been built, providing warmth, convenient and cheap transport, electricity, a convenient means of cooking and connectivity, just to mention a few uses. It is a form of salvation to man. For the fossil fuel industry, to cut back in use means to lose. To lose sales, profits and economic power. To lose global market share, negotiating power, brand reputation and relevance. To become weak, small, invisible and below par. SEEDS OF DOUB Economies that depend heavily on fossil fuels face the threat of impoverishment, conflict and disintegration. Persons faced with that kind of future are unlikely to support actions that mitigate climate change fully. It is not surprising, then, that the oil company Exxon Mobil was greatly influential in the non-ratification of the The fact that the US was so concerned that developing countries were exempt from the Kyoto Protocol flies in the face of its being singly responsible for To excuse its inaction due to countries that use approximately a fifth of its energy is insulting, to say the least. This is completely antithetical to the 80/20 Pareto Principle! The climate change controversy has become synonymous with Exxon Mobil. Its funding of research and sowing subtle seeds of doubt about the legitimacy of climate change figures and its magnitude has influenced so many that even some brand those who support climate change mitigation a climate cult. The cost of this influence and its impact on the earth is yet to be accounted for, and if policies are to be formed on the same platform with these minds, they risk being watered down. The players in this industry wield great economic clout and their influence is unparalleled. Policymakers are vulnerable to influence that could consequently derail or water down the process. UNMADE, DELAYED DECISIONS Another worthy example is the It is evident that the players are not moving in tandem. These delays, which resemble strategies employed to wear out the enemy in war, will, it goes without saying, not win the war against climate change. When policymakers discuss climate change, it is imperative that everyone read from the same script. There should not be the slightest intention of blocking the process. Otherwise, our children will withstand the worst of our unmade, delayed decisions and undeveloped policies, our unpassed Bills and our unsigned treaties, a result of influences that prioritise economic development over the earth. If we are to mitigate climate change, we should ban the fossil fuel industry from these discussions, since the industry’s success is at odds with climate change mitigation. The earth is just. It gives us exactly what we deserve.