The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had already predicted that the most serious effects of climate change may be those on human migration. In tune with IPCC’s prediction, a recent report published by Environmental Justice Foundation warns that by 2050 about 150 million people will be forced to move out of their homes/countries as climate refugees.
The most serious effects of climate change may be those on human migration. By 2050, about 150 million people will be forced to move out of their homes/countries as climate refugees.
The people of Bangladesh are one of the most impacted people as a result of rising waters. But they are not the only one. There are hundreds of thousands of others around the world like the people in Maldives, Tuvalu who also face the same threat. Some countries in Africa are experiencing droughts whereas some are flooded. Satellite pictures show that the glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro have shrunk to their half in the last two decades. Satellite pictures in our own Himalayan Range show shrinking glaciers, decreasing ice caps, and swelling glacial lakes.
Unfortunately, the people of these countries do not play any role in greenhouse gas emissions compared to some of the developed countries and some emerging economies. If we look at the statistics, China has already surpassed United States in greenhouse gas emissions. It is the second-largest energy consumer behind United States. India is slowly following China. Recent data puts China as the top emitter of greenhouse gases with emissions of over 8,000 metric tons of CO2, representing nearly 21 percent of the total global emissions. United States emits over 6,000 metric tons of CO2, representing about 16 percent of total global emission. India ranks sixth with around 2,000 metric tons, representing 5 percent of the global emission.
And what this means to Bangladeshis, Nepalis and people from other developing countries who are on the verge of becoming climate refugees is that the problem lies in their backyard. It is not only the developed countries that are resulting in changing weather patterns but also the former developing countries that are now racing towards becoming the next superpower. Hence, not only the leaders of the developed countries but also of the developing countries, especially India and China, need to come to a global consensus and devise and implement appropriate plans, policies and actions to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from their various processes without any delay. Otherwise, the prediction that there will be 20 million climate refugees in Bangladesh alone will come out true in no time.
Currently the leaders, policymakers of the developing world, especially China, are pointing fingers at the developed world, especially United States. The matter gets worse at the negotiating table because US has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol yet.
The Chinese leadership needs to make a wise decision and it should quit blaming the US and other developed nations for whatever they did in the past. The Chinese need to think of the current situation of the planet as a former prosperous family who is now getting poor and if all the members of the family don’t act together the family will go bankrupt in the near foreseeable future. When the family was rich, the elder siblings enjoyed the prosperity. But now when the family is at a catastrophic juncture, every member of the family – including the younger siblings who did not get to enjoy the wealth as much as the elder siblings did – has to come together to do the best they could to bring back the prosperity to the family. If the younger siblings continue to blame their elders and remain adamant to enjoy the family’s remaining wealth – despite knowing the repercussions – then that would be very unfortunate and catastrophic for this planet.
Related story
SHIFT for Our Planet: Youths urge authorities to make climate j...
