CLIMATE INJUSTICE

Climate is the average weather in a given area over a longer period of time. A description of a climate includes information on, e.g. the average temperature in different seasons, rainfall, and sunshine, classical period used for describing a climate is 30 years, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). .

Wladimir Koppen divided the world's climates into categories. His categories were based on the temperature, the amount of precipitation, and the times of year when precipitation occurs. The categories were also influenced by a region’s latitude—the imaginary lines used to measure our Earth from north to south from the equator.

five main types of climates are:

A: Tropical. In this hot and humid zone, the average temperatures are greater than 64°F (18°C) year-round and there is more than 59 inches of precipitation each year.

B: Dry. These climate zones are so dry because moisture is rapidly evaporated from the air and there is very little precipitation.

C: Temperate. In this zone, there are typically warm and humid summers with thunderstorms and mild winters.

D. Continental. These regions have warm to cool summers and very cold winters. In the winter, this zone can experience snowstorms, strong winds, and very cold temperatures—sometimes falling below -22°F (-30°C)!

E: Polar. In the polar climate zones, it’s extremely cold. Even in summer, the temperatures here never go higher than 50°F (10°C)!

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperature, e.g carbon dioxide and methane. These come from using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Deforestation can also release carbon dioxide. Landfills for garbage are a major source of methane emissions. Energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main emitters.

Greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years

And emissions continue to rise. As a result, the Earth is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s. The last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record,  temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others.

EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity.

People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways, Climate change can affect our health, ability to grow food, housing, safety and work. Some of us are already more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as people living in small island nations and other developing countries. Conditions like sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion have advanced to the point where whole communities have had to relocate, and protracted droughts are putting people at risk of famine. In the future, the number of “climate refugees” is expected to rise.

CLIMATE INJUSTICE 

 The top three greenhouse gas emitters are  China, the European Union and the United States, they contribute 41.5% of total global emissions, while the bottom 100 countries only account for only 3.6%. Collectively(mostly poor countries), the top 10 emitters account for over two-thirds of global GHG emissions, but the sad truth is that the emissions that cause climate change come from every part of the world and affect everyone,climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders, richer countries emit more green house gases and poorer nations are more vulnerable to the effects caused by such emissions, this is "CLIMATE INJUSTICE".

FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE

As part of the fight to end climate injustice, African countries on Monday at COP27 called for an end to a "climate injustice" saying the continent causes less than four percent of global CO2 emissions but pays one of the highest prices for global warming. Hence, the call for climate justice, Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the benefits and burdens of climate change and responsibilities to deal with climate change.

One critical step to ensure "CLIMATE JUSTICE" is for industrialized countries to fulfil their commitment to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries so they can adapt and move towards greener economies.

CALL FOR CLIMATE ACTION

According to UNDP, climate action “means stepped-up efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-induced impacts, including: climate-related hazards in all countries; integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning; and improving education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity with respect to climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.” Climate action requires significant financial investments by governments and businesses. But climate inaction is vastly more expensive. 

To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP21 in Paris on 12 December 2015. The Agreement entered into force less than a year later. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and given the grave risks, to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Implementation of the Paris Agreement is essential for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and provides a roadmap for climate actions that will reduce emissions and build climate resilience.

Every increase in global warming matters

In a series of UN reports, thousands of scientists and government reviewers agreed that limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C would help us avoid the worst climate impacts and maintain a livable climate. Yet policies currently in place point to a 2.8°C temperature rise by the end of the century.