Follow climate change talks with action

Talks on climate change have morphed into William Shakespeare’s proverbial tale that is full of sound and fury yet signifying nothing. 

The truth is that it will take more than environmentalists and activists to address the issue of climate change. And it is not a problem that can be solved by one part of the world acting in isolation.

A systemic approach is necessary. If I were to draw local examples, I would point at two major systems: education and governance. On education, we must admit that we have done very little in terms of socializing learners into climate-conscious beings. 

There is copious scientific knowledge on the impact of human activity on the environment. But these are mostly reserved for discussions in boardrooms and international conferences with little being done to disseminate the same to the citizen.

Education is critical in the climate change war. All need education concerning their role in arresting adverse climatic changes. These should be followed by a concrete action plan, which should involve programmes that can bring citizens on board.

The other should be administrative, wherein culprits are dealt with firmly. Our water bodies are used as dumpsters by individuals and industries. These are issues which can be handled by bodies such as county governments and Nema.

Safe and sustainable world

The UN set the agenda for climate change and global warming a long time ago, and is pursuing it: The 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, Kyoto Protocol, UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, and Paris Agreement on Climate Change, among others.  SDG13 addresses the need to urgently combat climate change and its impact. The seventh goal, which talks about sustainable and modern energy.

But these don’t make sense to us (cooking gas price is set to increase, for example), just like some developed nations that we know, so that all we do is ratify agreements and protocols in principle. 

For instance, the Climate Change Act 2016 established the Climate Change Council, whose fruits are yet to be seen. Local research repositories are replete with study reports from scientists. But as usual, they are dismissed as mere paperwork.

Even then, the developed world isn’t as serious concerning climate change and global warming. Their continued emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere makes our efforts look ridiculous.

Nevertheless, we owe ourselves and our progeny a safe and sustainable world. The starting point is doing the right thing, regardless of what others do, knowing well that the small wrongs we do have an immediate impact on us compared to those perpetrated by the distant players. 

It’s good news that Joe Biden’s America is trooping back to the table in honour of the Paris Agreement. As the United States and selfsame actors repent their great sins, we should equally denounce our small transgressions against nature.

Mr Osabwa is a lecturer at Alupe University College, Busia. [email protected]