CLIMATE change, with its ugly head above the waters of the Pacific Ocean this week, has invited once more the attention of climatologists and government leaders, including UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres.
Climate change, whose effects have been most noticeable since the 1950s when industrialization geared up to a newfound rapid pace, has been a growing problem, and has impacted the way businesses operate, how developing countries strive to obtain resources, and how we rebuild local communities after suffering the nasty effects of natural disasters due to global warming.
This week, the 18-member week-long Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, which started on Monday, is ringing the bell in “showing the way” to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change.
Properly, the rest of the world must listen and step up with more support.
As Guterres, who fronted the summit in a rare appearance designed to highlight the Pacific’s myriad climate threats, said “The decisions world leaders take in the coming years will determine the fate, first of Pacific Islanders, and then everyone else.”
Guterres had his syllables loud and clear when he said “If we save the Pacific, we save the world.”
In Tonga, leaders are expected to mount a renewed push for a homegrown climate adaptation fund, an idea that has stalled as much-needed foreign contributions dry up.
The annual meeting of leaders is the top political decision-making body of the region, with the summit culminating in the leaders’ retreat, where key decisions are made, which may include an endorsement of a regional policing initiative promoted by Australia.
World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo will join Guterres at the Forum, to bring attention to how climate change and associated sea-level rise are impacting Pacific islands, and to highlight the need for Early Warnings for All as a crucial climate adaptation tool.
Needless to state, climate change has continued to change life on Earth as we know it – and will continue to do so until we stabilize or cool rapidly rising global surface temperatures.
Scientists discovered the phenomenon of climate change after measuring the surface temperature of various oceans, and were able to correlate the significant increase with the growing rates of urbanization, industrialization, and human consumerism.
The Geneva-based World Health Organization in fact has declared the global temperature rise and excessive act of burning fossil fuels to be one of the greatest threats to global health.
Therefore, the increase of the global average surface temperature not only has an affect on the climate system, but on human health.
