It is official, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) announced on October 8 that we have 12 years to limit climate change or face catastrophe.
Judging from responses through the media, it might still take a while to influence many of the stubborn.
Many governments are already facing minor backlashes from the right.
Not surprisingly, the US State Department released a statement distancing itself from these scientific findings of the IPCC.
Australia has openly rejected the call, with its deputy prime minister saying they will not change policy “just because somebody might suggest it”, and they would “absolutely” continue to use and exploit their coal reserves.
And here, judging by the persistent resistance to Government moves such as the ban on new oil/gas exploration and the inclusion of agriculture into the emissions programme, it may take a little time to get there.
I also remind readers of Waikato law student Sarah Thomson taking the previous government to court over its inaction on climate change.
One defence from the government in that case was: “If New Zealand reduced its emissions down to zero, there is going to be no noticeable change in the impacts of climate change. We must rely on the efforts of others and the global community . . .”
Lawyer Davey Salmon responded: “When the ship is sinking . . . everyone bails.”
The IPCC reported that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C is a matter of survival for all, and that this is feasible through bold political actions.
Yet we have New Zealand business and farming interests still crying out that reductions are not viable for the NZ economy.
Do they too fall into the category of the Flat-Earthers, Trump’s “climate change is a hoax” followers, or other deniers who find the truth too inconvenient to comprehend?
Greenpeace NZ’s Amanda Larsson said limiting global warming was a matter of life and death.
Our priorities are back-to-front when we are more concerned with the price of fuel at the pump, and encourage high-environmental-impact cruise liners — the very things we have to wean ourselves off to prevent apocalytic consequences of continued emissions.
Rachel Stewart in her NZ Herald column “Climate — Don’t say I didn’t warn you”, last Wednesday, said it’s not too late to “turn this overloaded, burning, sinking mess of a global ship around” but it will take governments and the public acting like it is WW2 again.
We should embrace what Buddhists have said for millennia and live in the moment. Instead of staring at screens we should engage with those we love, be grateful for what we have, and do what brings joy.
“That’s not fatalism. That’s acceptance.”
She did however leave an opening of hope: “. . . a massive transformation could take place. And that’s possible, but unlikely”.
Thanks Rachel.
During the Interfaith Week of Prayer for World Peace last week, I was privileged to voice these readings:
• Prayer in Action: If you care enough about something, enough to complain, you care enough to do something about it.
• The Environment . . . Bring the Earth your love and happiness, the Earth will be safe when we feel safe in ourselves.
Gathering with others concerned for our world and her people further boosted my hope for the future.
The IPCC’s urgent call for action is official. Let’s join the wave of acceptance to spark the critical, mass chain reaction of realisation needed to convince world powers to act to keep our world habitable and prevent human extinction. It may be our last chance.