Human Role in influencing Climate Change

Over the past decade, if there is one issue that has generated variegated concerns, then it is that of Climate Change. Now, what exactly is climate change and how do we influence the course of its occurrence? 

The United Nations recognises and defines Climate Change as “long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns”. These shifts have predominantly been natural since the evolution of the world until the nineteenth century. With advancing technology and evolving lifestyles, human beings may be considered as the primary force behind driving a change so pertinent yet so hazardous. 

The question here is how? Well, Environmental Studies in school might have taught us that burning of fossil fuels especially coal, oil and natural gas leads to a paradigm shift in the climate. However, what it did not teach is the significance and impact of this transformation on a daily basis. 

As per a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), this phenomenon causes nearly 150,000 deaths every year, and this number is only speculated to double in the next seven years. Moreover, adding onto the effect of climate change is the fuelling concern of global warming, caused by the emission of greenhouse gases contributing significantly to the already worsening climate crises. 

Even though there are a lot of problems at the shore, there are solutions that have been presented before. All we need to do is to educate ourselves, understand the sensitivity of the matter and implement the necessary measures. This is how - 

Be it the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Sustainable Development Goals or the Paris Agreement, the policies or agreements in all these conventions highlight the inexplicable need to integrate measures within the legislature of every country to combat the issue we have heightened. 

To commence the solution, a three-way approach is sure to help: 

1. Reducing emission of greenhouse gases: One can lessen the damage they have caused through emission of greenhouse gases by switching to renewable sources of energy like wind, solar and tidal energy.

2. Adjusting to the impacts of climate change: Environmentalists around the globe are working consistently to curate early warning systems from disasters but adjustments will have to be made everywhere to ensure that the underprivileged have enough resources to survive such trying times.

3. Ensuring that the required adjustments are supported by funds: The acceptance and adherence to the concept of Green Economies in developing countries is still like Gatsby’s dream - unachievable. Therefore, developed, industrialised and privileged countries have to step in and contribute significant investments every year, fulfilling their commitments in order to ensure there is parity of resources. 

Hence, even though the predominance of Climate Change is inevitable, what can we do to subside it? For starters, educating ourselves and undertaking a systemic course of action can definitely influence our surroundings for the better, preserving it for posterity.

- Aashi Agarwal

1. References :
   1. United Nations. (n.d.). What is climate change? Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change
   
   
   2. United Nations. (n.d.). Climate change. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/climatechange 3. NASA. (n.d.). Climate change: How do we know? Retrieved from https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ 4. World Health Organization. (n.d.). Climate change and health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health
   5. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/