This was better than the responses I got from a bulk of people with the majority admitting that they are ignorant about the subject.
Considering that global warming and climate change are expected to affect the developing world more, it appears inappropriate that the majority of Zimbabweans still have no clue about this phenomenon.
Interestingly however, there has been a number of contrasting theories on global warming and climate change.
In his book entitled The God Species for instance, Mark Lynas, a British journalist and environmental activist, asserts that although greenhouse gases need to be drawn out of the air, this can be achieved “without cramping anyone’s style” and dismissed climate change as nothing more than “a financing issue”.
This would explain why some people are bent on the whole thing being just another hoax!
Greenpeace International, a worldwide environmental organisation however, like many others, is preaching a whole different gospel, one I feel we can no longer afford to ignore if we are to do ourselves a favour.
According to a write-up produced and distributed by Greenpeace, “We can — and must — cut CO2 emissions by as much as 80%. “If we do this, we can keep the rise in global temperatures below the 2˚C”, which it said scientists had agreed was the essential mark if the climate is to be prevented from getting “completely out of control”.
This implies that, to achieve this, everyone from all over the world would need to change the way they live.
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From changing the way we travel, the way we produce goods, how we farm, right to switching to cleaner energy sources and changing the rate at which we consume resources.
These implications have ruffled feathers in the developing world, with many arguing why, when we did the least to contribute towards the catastrophe, we should have to compromise our rate of development.
Many in the developing countries are asking: “Why should we sacrifice so much for a problem we did not really cause?”
The United States reportedly emits 5,9 billion tones of CO2 annually, 10 times more than the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.
Unfortunately for us however, considering that the catastrophe is believed to be already upon us, this argument will not do much to stop us feeling the impact of climate change.
According to the executive director of the European Environment Agency, Jacqueline Mcglade, people in Europe have finally seen climate change for what it really is as they have observed warmer than ever temperatures.
They now experience shorter winters and longer summers, melting glaciers, thinning ice, disappearing icebergs and sea-level rises, among other changes.The bad news for Africa and Zimbabwe in particular is that with each season, global warming and climate change is becoming more and more a reality. A Zimbabwean environmental activist, Maxwell Kanotunga, who works with Greenpeace, believes it has become increasingly evident that climate change was now upon Zimbabwe.
He asserted that people had no choice but to learn about it and prepare to adapt or face the consequences.
Kanotunga cited higher temperatures, irregular rainfall patterns, persistent floods and the dwindling of kapenta population in the Kariba Dam resulting from the warming temperatures as some of the “clear evidence”.
We might all want to consider the saying that goes, “better safe than sorry”.
With the upcoming 17th Conference of Parties (COP17) in Durban, South Africa, where the United Nations climate negotiators will meet for another round of debate on the issue, the Zimbabwean government should see it mandatory to represent its people’s interests and make sure measures are put in place to cushion people against the effects of climate change.
People deserve to be informed and educated on the things that are bound to affect their livelihoods.
Zimbabwe will hopefully catch up with the rest of the world on efforts to adapt to climate change.
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