In the age of climate change, discussions around global warming are commonplace, yet many people are uncertain as to why it is an important topic. Despite the heated debates on either side of the issue, global warming can no longer be denied and is deserving of serious consideration due to its potentially damaging effects. In this op-ed scientific article, through analysis of the numerous potential implications of global warming and an exploration of the potential solutions available, I will argue why it is in our best interest to pay urgent attention to the matter.
It can no longer be refuted that human activity is accelerating climate change. According to the World Bank Group, a group of 184 countries and 24 international organisations, “Human activity is changing the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to rises in carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, along with other greenhouse gases, causing concentrations of heat in the atmosphere”. Consequently, global temperatures are rising, putting depletion of natural resources and permanent damage to the environment at risk and resulting in a variety of far-reaching effects on human lives. These range from health and food insecurity to biodiversity loss and land erosion, as well as extreme changes in weather patterns, including an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms, floods and droughts.
As the effects of global warming become increasingly obvious, it is becoming increasingly difficult to deny the need for effective, long-term action to address the threat. Adequately prepared and equipped countries may be able to survive short-term periods of intense floods or droughts but, for developing countries, climate change could result in poverty or worse. Climate change is, thus, a major risk multiplier and it is an undeniable fact that it is already changing the pattern of agriculture, energy and water availability, culminating in a variety of different risks for economies and communities.
For the international community, the effect of global warming must be addressed in the form of innovative technological solutions designed to reduce emissions, such as renewable energy, as well as improved adaptation systems, such as drought-resistant crops, that can ensure food security in developing countries. Additionally, through a multi-pronged approach of education, research, guidance and advocacy, governments are uniquely qualified to make large-scale, structural changes that can encourage sustainable development and the adoption of green practices.
To fully understand why global warming is the most pressing environmental issue of our time, we must move beyond rhetoric and evaluate the effects in real-life situations. For instance, the State of California has witnessed a nine-degrees Fahrenheit rise in temperature since 1960, rendering water resources scarce and seasonal water allocations drastically inadequate for the growing population and industries in the state. Moreover, a 2014 Stanford University report concluded that global warming had already caused economic losses estimated at 2.8 percent of global annual wage income and a 5.3 percent decrease in agricultural yields, with vast potential for greater losses in the future.
Given the tangible effects of global warming, decisive measures need to be taken to ensure that the issue is adequately addressed in the present and most of all into the future. While difficult to reverse the immediate effects of climate change, cutbacks in emissions will prevent further damage and allow for a notable improvement in living conditions for future generations. Only then can we achieve a sustainable and equitable global environment within which humans, animals and earth can thrive.