ENVIRONMENT
The IPCC report on emissions reminds us that while nation-states hold the responsibility of curbing climate change, individuals are also equally responsible for leading sustainable lives. It is through shared concern that the earth can be saved.
The New Leam Staff
Climate change is one of the most contested issues in the world. The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) put the responsibility on both the individual and the state to mitigate climate change. The IPCC is a scientific and an inter-governmental body dedicated to the task of providing a nonpartisan perspective on climate change. It is affiliated to the United Nations. The IPCC has recently come out with an emission report which depicts a grave scenario for climate change across the world.
The IPCC expects from people that they adopt certain behavioral changes to keep the earth’s average temperature at 1.5 degree Celsius. People’s lifestyles and consumption patterns must be altered to counter climate change. The report advice that life needs to be altered on three fronts-changing the mode of transportation, mode of residence and dietary practice.
Firstly, an individual can travel through carpooling or use electric cars and this will enable greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced. The second way is to live in a house that is fixed with smart thermostats and efficient air conditioners. A third way to address climate change is to regulate our diet. IPCC advises that one should eat less meat and fewer animal products. Agriculture based diet is important here. It is estimated that 14.5% greenhouse gas is released by livestock.
The IPCC has requested everybody to follow its instructions. It has requested industries and private firms that emit a lot of greenhouse gases to adopt infrastructural mechanisms to tackle this concern. The fruit of industrialization was taken by developed countries like the USA and England, however now people in the developed countries need to adhere to the rules and regulations of the IPCC.
The amount of pollution and damage to natural endowments that has taken place because of rapid industrialisation has affected the climate incredibly and this implies that in the contemporary times we have no option but to alter our life choices and make sure that nature is no longer destructed due to unsustainable activities.
There should be stringent regulations imposed on countries that emit greenhouse gas.
As the IPCC suggests, every individual has to take the responsibility of altering their life and contributing to the sustenance of the natural world. While nation states have a critical role in this, this does not free the individual from all responsibility.
