Embrace good politics to drive Climate action

Dear friends, I have penned down this article with the hope that you read, understand, and take necessary action if need be. Climate change is one of the leading challenges in the 21st Century. It requires support from all parts of the world to mitigate it. However, many attempts to formulate and ratify solutions to climate change have been downplayed by politics.

In the contemporary world, politics serve as a conduit pipe through which climate actions are realized. Bad politics delay climate actions while good politics is necessary in the fight against the heatwaves we have experienced in Europe and America, prolonged droughts in Africa, increased tropical cyclones in the Caribbean as well as melting of the polar ice sheet. These challenges, if continue unabated, can blow out of proportion and it might be too late to act in future. Therefore, there is a need for the world to start viewing climate change as a disaster. Therefore, I would wish to explain in details how bad politics have delayed climate actions for its gains.
a)The United States
In the US, climate policy is vitally important in most presidential manifestos. Tracing back to 2008, President Barack Obama took the podium and promised Americans that he will unlock the gateway to clean energy technology and reduce emissions. He went further and urged everyone to work together to achieve that goal. The Obama administration burnt the midnight oil to ensure stricter measures were put in place to mitigate climate change. He succeeded in bringing America closer to the ratification of the Paris Agreement. His tenure came to a close leaving Americans’ dream of a better world in shackles. After President tenure ends, President Donald Trump assumed the oval office. Trump was determined to pull the US out of Paris Agreement — going against the wishes of the world. Trump made it clear in his Presidential campaign dubbed ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) that he will stop at nothing to remove the US from Paris Pact and that his focus was pegged on creating jobs for America. Trump’s policy differed from that of Obama because his intentions were obvious; to protect petroleum refining companies not because of something else but rather due to sinister reasons. With a closer examination of the two administrations, one would notice that the Obama administration pushed for climate reforms while his successor worked hard to censure them. Economically, the US is the most industrialized nation and by design, the leading emitter of emissions. This begs the question as to whether America is taking steps to reduce emissions. As we speak, no tangible steps have been made to cut on emissions. Therefore, America and entire global society should establish well-funded independent state agencies and institutions such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to handle climate action with the least interference from any political wave that is deemed to hurt climate action.
b) Africa
The unending civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has paradoxically defined the mineral-rich country as a land without people and people without a land. Worth mentioning, DRC has never experienced peace and stability like France since its independence. The country has for far too long been at war. Needless to say, most of the resources are controlled by rebels who mine and sell them in the overseas markets. The beneficiaries of the exploits would in turn respond with ceasefire campaigns with the least modalities to end civil strife that has bedeviled the country for more than 40 years. When people fight, the country records low development take off which in the long run affects climate action. Furthermore, the Congo basin contains the second largest tropical forest in the world which is currently on the brink of destruction due to logging and expansion of land for settlement. With continued deforestation, the vast forest canopy is destroyed exposing humanity to the dangers of climate change and increased global warming. Ecologically, forests play a key role in absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. With excessive logging, forest canopies are destroyed exposing vast lands to albedo (outgoing radiation from the earth’s surface) and also affecting carbon sequestration. Therefore, there is a need for Africa to support DR Congo to bring to an end civil unrest and work together to revive the Congo basin by supporting afforestation programs and protection of the basin.
c) Europe
The past three weeks have been very tough for people in Europe and America. Heatwaves have seen many people hospitalized due to respiratory complications. Most people opted to stay indoors to avoid sunburns due to the soaring temperatures of the day. Some cities recorded above 45 degrees Celsius. The high temperatures caused wildfires which in turn ravaged vast lands in Italy, Greece, and Germany. The smoke released from wildfires contained carbon and other greenhouse gases, the lead contributor to global warming. The time is nigh for Europe to cooperate with the entire world by stepping up climate resilient action plans. The politics in this part of the world should steer the formulation and implementation of emission control initiatives which include but are not limited to clean energy technologies, smart agriculture, and afforestation programs.
Bottom line, it is imperative for the world to view climate change as a disaster waiting to wreak havoc. We should act as though climate change is a tsunami that has sent the foreshock and failure to evacuate on time is met with dire consequences such as loss of lives. With good politics in place, climate policies can be enacted with ease, implemented, and protected for the well-being of humanity. the world should be made to recognize that there is no alternative planet that can host humankind should we fail to safeguard mother earth. It is high time for the world to embrace climate actions because there is no much time left before a massive apocalypse strikes!