Witoubou Newmai
The global issue that also demands local attention
The ‘biggest global poll’ result, published on Wednesday (January 27, 2021), has underpinned the view that “climate change is a global emergency”.
Termed by BBC as the ‘biggest global poll’, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in conjunction with Oxford University, conducted the poll christened as 'Peoples' Climate Vote'. Many media houses have billed the poll as “the world's biggest ever survey of public opinion on climate change”, covering 50 countries. “Nearly two-thirds of 1.2 million people polled worldwide say humanity faces a climate emergency”, the poll result says.
Among the many takeaways from this poll, one is the revelation that the number of people recognizing the peril of climate change is greater than the number of people who are not. Furthermore, the people not only recognized the problems but also clearly saw the urgency of the issue.
Another takeaway is that the poll result is telling the world that it is not a mere ‘change’ of climate but the issue has graduated to an ‘emergency’ status. The poll result also mirrors the nerve of urgency that prevails among the people when it comes to the issue but remains dormant due to the absence of viable forms.
This poll, perhaps, has served as an epiphany to the intransigent world. This is so, partly, because the world has been missing much in the campaign against climate change and on carbon markets.
The poll result also implies that there is an urgent need for a wide-ranging policy response. It also demands a fresh tempo of campaign on the issue at varied levels and growth into a major force in society and politics.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s poll result came amidst the talks of “12-year” catchphrase, which is considered a deadline counting from 2018, to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. The emissions of greenhouse gases have to begin dropping well before 2030.
We may recall a news report in ‘Scientific American’ (a science journal) published little more than a year ago saying that “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) working groups with 91 authors and editors from 40 countries examined 6,000-plus scientific studies and called for ‘global carbon dioxide emissions (to) start to decline well before 2030’ to avoid the most severe consequences of global warming”.
A global issue such as this one presented in a minuscule local newspaper here may appear to have some disconnects to the needs of the local readers. However, we cannot ignore the fact that this climate change or global warming is a global issue impacting down to the smallest 'locality'.
As we are almost there in the desperation line, and as the waiting for effective top-down policies on the issue never ends, one needs to consider for bottom-up actions. This is nothing but taking responsibility 'locally' for us and for the global future.
