As leaders from at least 200 countries have sit down in Egypt’s seaside city to work out an action plan to contain a dreadful climate change, which, experts say, has already reached the tipping point, the world is set to achieve another milestone when the global population hits eight billion by mid-November, creating more serious questions for the policymakers to tackle climate induced disasters and an imminent resource crunch in the years to come.
That the European Commission president’s speech to the COP27 summit has put it in a nutshell urging the world nations not to take “the highway to hell but let’s earn the clean ticket to heaven” corroborates a recent report by the UN on climate that has pinpointed the population growth as one of the main drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, which have adverse impacts on the social, psychological and economic growth of the people.
A report by this newspaper has cited the UN Population Fund chief as saying that “eight billion people – it is a momentous milestone for humanity” is how the UNPF hails an increase in life expectancy, and fewer maternal and child deaths. However, women and children still remain the most vulnerable segments of the society to natural disasters and climate change phenomena.
The UN climate talks have opened with an agreement among the world leaders to discuss compensation to the poor countries for the damage linked to rise in global warming and its related disasters, like flooding and loss of lands and agricultural produce. However, the delegates to the COP27 need to be clear to figure a way out of the multiple impacts of climate change.
As the world is gripped by growing tensions, the Russian invasion has turned the world’s food supply and energy situation topsy-turvy during the past eight months, requiring the COP27 delegates to chalk out a roadmap to prevent any more man-made disasters and cope with the climate change is a cause of a great concern for the poor nations, who blame the damage on the rich countries.
Natural disasters, including droughts, wildfires, excessive rainfall, flooding and land-sliding, when coupled with population growth point to a bleaker future for the humanity. “Eight billion people – it is a momentous milestone for humanity,” said United Nations Population Fund chief Natalia Kanem, hailing an increase in life expectancy and fewer maternal and child deaths.
Experts say that instead of the fear of over-population, we should focus on the over-consumption of the planet’s resources by the wealthiest nations and create a fund to compensate the poorest nations for the losses induced by the climate change and global warming. It is now our choice to choose between a highway to hell and green ticket to heaven.
