COP 21: Lame New Labels; Same Old Questions – Sri Lankan Solutions

By Asoka Abeygunawardana –December 14, 2015

Asoka Abeygunawardhana

This Paris conference is the last change for the UNFCCC to limit the rise of global temperature to 20C. If the global leadership collective do not have the commitment and the will to break through the various deadlocks and resistive forces arrayed against this, the world must resign itself to the rapid degeneration of our planet and its creatures via convenient ignorance, past concern, past alarm, past inaction… to doom. We all know that if we continue the way we have conveniently done then the planet’s temperature will rise to 30C over the temperature that existed 150 years ago. We are clearly cognizant of the results of such an escalation in the temperature of our planet. Loss of agricultural land and damage to the photosynthetic action that feeds us all will bring about a situation that is impossible to respond to with massive loss of life among the poor due to thirst and starvation.

The world first talked about mitigating carbon emissions. While it was discussing this, the temperature of the plant rose by 10C. Then it changed tack and started talking about adaptation. Despite hundreds of discussions, it was unable to adapt to any degree that was worth talking about. It had to resign ourselves to simply responding to the mandatory disasters that visited many parts of our planet. So, now, it is reduced to speaking about how to save the lives of vulnerable peoples and communities. Yet, realizing that even this was impossible, it is now simply talking on an emerging label, namely, “minimizing loss and damage”. When the environment is damaged to the point where it cannot support human life anymore, they must migrate, whether they like it or not. Thus, it is now talking about a new set of rules based on yet another label. This time, “Migration”.

If the temperature of the world increases anymore not only mankind but most other creatures who call this planet home will wiped off its face. The world will no longer be a place for life to happen, be, and prosper whether that life is human or plant or animal. We, the world, must take responsibility for this doom which is no longer in the realm of conjecture but stark, real, and proximate.

Those who are primarily responsible for this turn of events are those nations the developed nations that burned massive amounts of fossil fuels in their rush to develop themselves. If one considers it a basic right of all human life to be able to release carbon into the atmosphere, then America will only be able to emit 30 Giga Tons of carbon up to the year 2050. Yet, by now, that nation has already released 95 Giga Tons of carbon into the atmosphere or three times the amount they should be allowed to emit. Europe can only release 50 Giga Tons in the same period but they have already emitted 85 Giga Tons. Therefore, it is imperative that the issue of “Historic Responsibility” is brought to the table. Accordingly, America and Europe must stop emitting carbon into the atmosphere completely right now.Read More