Climate crisis is worse than pandemics

The whole world’s attention is consumed by wars and humanitarian crises. It seems that after one is solved, another one comes along to replace it. The latest is the epidemic that is beginning to encompass Africa and may soon become another health crisis.

The one sure thing about the wars and humanitarian crises engulfing the world today is that sooner or later, they will all end and be replaced by new wars and crises.

The single crisis that seems like it will only get worse is the climate crisis. The heat wave that has struck Europe, Africa, Asia and North America has become annual occurrences. There is a consensus that this has been caused by the climate crisis and yet the world seems to be accepting it as an unsolvable event in our daily lives.

Wildfires in places as disparate as Greece, California and Australia have become anticipated annual occurrences. The governments’ attitude towards this is to prepare how best to control the wildfires that they know will surely come. I do not hear any serious effort to address the root cause, which is, again, climate change.

In the Philippines, the rainy season inevitably brings floods. The government’s plan for this is to prepare disaster relief and evacuation centers without addressing the root causes. The destruction of forests, watersheds and illegal logging continue unabated. There is no serious reforestation program and urban areas are not protected from the floodwaters due to the deforestation of nearby mountains.

The relationship between China and the West has been defined by competition, rather than cooperation. The world is facing the almost impossible task of moving from a carbon-intensive energy system to a world of net zero emissions. China and the United States are the two biggest polluters in the world. They should be cooperating on how together they can address the climate change issue. However, while these two countries publicly say that they are looking for clean energy products, they continue to compete, rather than cooperate, on addressing climate change.

In fact, the United States has already placed higher tariffs on Chinese companies offering cheap, clean energy products like electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries to the metals and minerals that compose them. The United States does not want to become dependent on imported Chinese products.

The European Union is also considering higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. All these defensive measures will raise the cost and slow the pace of energy transition.

Rising inflation and economic slowdown have also intensified the concern that energy transition will lead to job losses and price hikes. This concern is being exploited by fossil fuel producers who are now using the term “energy pragmatism” to slow down, if not abolish, the plans of transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Haitham al-Ghais, the secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), wrote that the transition to renewable energy from fossil fuel would require “realistic policies” that acknowledge rising demand for oil and gas.

All this resistance to renewable energy is motivated by selfishness and the continuing impulse to maximize profit. As carbon emissions continue to rise, the threat posed by climate change actually requires much faster decarbonization. It is therefore troubling that some of the major decision makers of the world continue to propagate the belief that climate change is scientific fiction.

Recently, Donald Trump, one of the two major candidates for president of the United States, said that the windmill, which is a tool for renewable energy, should be banned because it kills too many birds.

Rich countries continue to be the main source of emissions while the poor countries are suffering from the effects of climate change.

In 2009, the rich countries promised $100 billion in climate financing to the poorer countries. It took 13 years before they could deliver on this promise. In 2023, the governments of the rich countries pledged only $800 million to a new global fund to help low-income countries cope with the effects of climate change.

Europe has also announced plans for at least 17 new liquefied gas import terminals to lessen its dependence on Russian oil and gas.

Building renewable and other clean energy projects will require massive spending. According to estimates from the International Energy Agency and the International Monetary Fund, emerging and developing economies will collectively need investments worth $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion each year by 2030 if the world is going to get on track for net zero emissions by 2050.

While the world today is confronted by major geopolitical challenges such as the one in the Russia-Ukraine war, the genocidal struggle in Gaza and the aggressive territorial ambition of China in the South China Sea, it may seem that the world is too preoccupied with wars and other forms of geopolitical crises for the world to pay attention to the climate crisis.

However, all the major powers and the developing countries must find a way to get together and address the environmental crisis. In the long run, the future generations will suffer from the terrible effects of climate change. Imagine a world where heat waves, floods and energy shortage become a way of life.

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