Photo by Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash

Article by Angelica Melek

Teenaged girl, Greta Thunberg[1] protests to pressurize the government to undertake necessary actions towards climate change.

Threatening news

Climate change is no longer a topic that can be dismissed as it has been for decades, despite many warnings [2], it is serious, significantly consequential, and life-threatening, causing ill health such as cardiovascular diseases, including stroke [3], for reasons such as air pollution. The World Health Organisation [4] states that even minor changes in our climate will impose drastic dangers to our life, predominantly in the upcoming years for example, between the years 2030 and 2050 it is predicted that climate change will cause around 250,000 deaths per year through heat stress, malaria and diarrhoea and what is most important to highlight, is that poorer countries will be less able to deal with these deadly impacts of climate change. The importance of educating the youth [5] regarding climate change has to be emphasized, as they will become future presidents, economists, sociologists …

Rich or poor… no escape

Climate change is damaging our planet and posing a risk to humans even in wealthier countries like Germany and Belgium, where for example a disastrous flood hit in 2021 [6], killing 180 people whilst leaving over 100,000 households without power, but especially in developing countries like Sudan where climate change added to their list of problems, hardships and worries such as famine, limited medical supplies [7], and many more struggles; when South Sudan was impacted by a major flood which occurred in October 2021, this flood, imposed difficulties on more than 800,000 [8] people whilst also having major impacts on their water supply, food production and the place they call home having to leave and migrate to higher grounds in churches, schools, etc. leaving them in a vulnerable situation to deal, survive and rebuild. This evidently shows that no matter where you are (geographically), how rich you are (financially) how advanced your country may be, climate change shows no compassion, no pity, no mercy and therefore it is a topic that cannot be disregarded, especially when people are having to leave their most sacred place- their home, to just about survive and escape the devastation of climate change.

Leaving your sanctuary

In addition, it is vital to dedicate time to addressing the migration that climate change is causing all over the world. It has been estimated that around 1 billion people [9] could be placed in a position where they would have to leave their homes and migrate to safer places because of climate change within the next 30 years, which indicates the immense impact climate change will have on upcoming generations, displacing an immense amount of people around the globe.

Battling an unpredictable war and the importance of education

On the other hand, it would be dismissive to not consider the efforts that have been taken by nations and corporations in this battle against climate change, especially when evidence shows that it is becoming a more prominent part of legislation [10]. Additionally, it could be considered passive to ignore alterations and amendments that are being undertaken in societies around the world to accustom people to this crisis, for example when the Education Minister announced climate change education to become mandatory [11] in Italy, making it the first country to impose such regulation. This shows a reform in the education system in Italy which could also underline the vitality of creating consciousness around this topic, especially around those who will lead the future generations, those who will be placed in a role of authority to govern and make decisions for the future of this world, which is reinforced by the specific target age of this education, as stated ‘6 to 19-year-olds’.

Are we going to change our behaviour for the better?

According to Prospect Magazine [12], at times it is hard to imagine a way of life that’s different to the way we are currently living in, however, things can change, as they did during the pandemic: society can adapt rapidly to circumstances, leaving room for hope and scope for change.  Climate change is impacting the whole world, whether it is our health, or our home being swept away, climate change doesn’t have favourites, it is only up to us to make a change.

References

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49918719

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/05/sixty-years-of-climate-change-warnings-the-signs-that-were-missed-and-ignored

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5836577/

[4] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health

[5] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/dec/03/teaching-climate-crisis-classrooms-critical-children

[6] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/16/western-germany-floods-angela-merkel-horror-catastrophe-deaths-missing-search-flooding-belgium?utm_shttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/16/western-germany-floods-angela-merkel-horror-catastrophe-deaths-missing-search-flooding-belgium?utm_s

[7] https://borgenproject.org/why-is-sudan-poor/

[8] https://floodlist.com/africa/south-sudan-floods-update-december-2021

[9] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/09/climate-crisis-could-displace-12bn-people-by-2050-report-warns

[10] https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-climate-change-laws-around-world

[11] https://abcnews.go.com/International/italy-makes-climate-change-education-compulsory/story?id=66817133

[12] https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/we-can-adapt-to-climate-change-but-do-we-have-the-will-to-do-it

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