Published on 12:00 AM, September 25, 2019

Heed their voices on climate change

The youth have sent a message

Greta Thunberg delivers a speech at the UN Climate Summit on September 23, 2019. PHOTO: REU-TERS/CARLO ALLEGRI
An emotional and impassioned speech by teen activist Greta Thunberg in the opening session of the United Nations Climate Action Summit on September 23 drove home the message of the need to take drastic action on climate change or risk hastening the destruction of the planet. She spoke of the pollution and other extreme impacts on climate largely brought about by the inaction over fossil fuel emissions and the inability of the world's largest polluting countries, whose leadership are responsible for the increase in climate-induced changes that have affected large parts of the world since the Paris Agreement. The voices of the scientists have been drowned out by some of the most powerful leaders in the world who remain climate sceptics.

We wonder how the "catastrophic warming" that is causing extreme weather conditions like thawing of the permafrost and alarming sea-level rising at much faster rates than expected, can be ignored by people heading some of the biggest economies of the world. This young activist spoke for all the young people across the globe, and yes, in our unmitigated greed for profits, we continue to witness the biggest emitting countries continue to patronise fossil fuels despite calls for achieving a net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.  

A recent UN report has found that instead of falling, carbon dioxide grew two percent in 2018, reaching a record high of 37 billion tonnes. We wonder, if the latest round of talks on climate change will be yet another exercise in making hollow commitments, or whether the 14 nations that contribute 25 percent of the world emissions will step away from their earlier stance on not revising current climate plans by 2020. If they stick to their guns, then Greta's appeal to humanity to do the right thing will have fallen on deaf ears and we may have proven the scientists, who have predicted that the Earth will be reaching a point of no return in our lifetime, right.

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