Page 92 - IBT December 2020

Climate Corner

thus making them deadly and causing the planet to 2019 U.N. Climate Action Summit would be held
heat up even more. Although a naturalist, climate accountable by a teenager? Thunberg’s certainly
change has been Attenborough’s concern in recent shown us how it’s done; and the fight for climate
years; in fact, he’s argued that if drastic measures are change is still going strong. Presenting the suffering
taken over the next decade then the world can prevent of her own as well as of others, she verbalized the
o
temperatures from rising more than 1.5 C this century; collapse of ecosystems at the cost of capitalistic
in fact, it would limit the scale of damage. greed.
The 17-year-old eco-activist’s roar in 2019, shattered
Elon Musk glass ceilings, thus giving birth to the coinage ‘The
Greta Effect'. Although Thunberg’s involvement with
A 2018 article on the Business Insider quotes Elon climate change have not directly been attributed in
Musk for arguing against the use of fossil fuel. The government’s policies, some believe that the issue
Tesla CEO observes how we’re taking ample amount of has come under limelight due to her activism.
carbon from the depths of the grounds and putting it Politicians such as U.K. Environment Secretary,
in the atmosphere. He’s called the act ‘crazy’ and ‘very Michael Gove and Former Labour Leader Ed Miliband
dangerous.’ has praised her work. Although the young climate
Planet can mine and burn. He’s opined that sustainable promised to keep an eye out for world leaders and
Musk has also added that in the long-term we will run
change activist has returned to school, she’s
out of oil, as there’s only a certain amount of oil we
their faux pas.
energy transportation system is what the future holds,
and the practice of burning fossil fuel is costly and a
Saima Wazed Hossain
crazy experiment which encourages investing trillion
Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on
tonnes of carbon and putting it into the atmosphere
Heroes and oceans. Musk is putting his efforts into Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Autism, Saima
Wazed Hossain was chosen as a thematic
sustainable energy so much that he’s invested in
ambassador of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF),
producing electric cars and solar panels, stressing on
the importance of stationary storage of energy.
among four recognized personalities- Mohamed
Needless to say, he stands firm in his views against
Nasheed, speaker and former President of Maldives,
Loren Legarda, deputy speaker of the Parliament of
carbon emission resulting from burning fossil fuel.
Philippines and Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, lead Climate
Unite By Greta Thunberg Change Specialist of DR Congo.
Being a CVF Ambassador will require Hossain to
“We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all
create a global public campaign to raise awareness on
you can talk about is the money and fairy tales of
climate vulnerabilities and also pursue countries to
Rubab
eternal economic growth…”
align their targets in order to meet the Paris
Nayeem
This premise to her iconic ‘How Dare You?’ speech,
Khan
made waves across news and social media; young miss
“From my perspective as a mental health expert and
Thunberg will be remembered in history for raising her Agreement Goal of 1.5C. In her speech, she said,
disability advocate, I am especially concerned about
voice against climate hazards at an age where many of
the ‘invisible injustice’ of the mental health impact of
1 us in our times, were busy playing catch. individuals and families affected by disasters caused
Who knew we’d see a day where world leaders at the
due to a changing climate.” She’s also added that a
With COP making headlines on a regular basis, we find Sir David Attenborough single extreme cyclone has shown to increase the
ourselves revisiting climate crisis every year, just as
much as world governments did three decades ago. As A composed yet concrete voice, narrating the prevalence of mental health issues in the general
population by 4 percent.
per the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on nitty-gritties of flora and fauna in various BBC
Climate Change, it’s treaty-bound for every country to programmes, Sir David Attenborough is recognized for As a mental health expert, Hossain looks at the
physical, sociological and economic factors that may
prevent climates from taking a dangerous turn and find his passionate advocacy for environment and recently
ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally and in climate change. have a direct or indirect impact on people’s mental
wellbeing. Thus attributing loss of home, income,
an equitable manner. In 2019, he warned us about a global ‘catastrophe’, in
However, increased man-made disasters only continue to his BBC programme, Climate Change-The Facts. In his community and social support systems, disruptions
in daily life, lack of security and unsanitary living
push us to the edge; leading to various anomalies in the show he has articulated the science behind climate
climate, locally and globally. From extreme floods, change, the current impacts as well as the ways forward conditions as key contributors to poor mental health.
Upon receiving her title as a thematic ambassador for
cyclones to air pollution, carbon emission and inundated to mitigate it. Attenborough, along with a range of
lands- the problems keep piling up. In these trying times, scientists have demonstrated that temperatures are CVF, Hossain aims to address health and climate
change issues- how it impacts mental health and
o
many activists, environmentalists and ambassadors of rising rapidly; as a result, the world has now become 1 C
climate change have taken it upon themselves to huddle warmer than before the industrial revolution. persons with disabilities, support displaced persons
who are forced out of their homelands due to
up with experts to find solutions and put them into Attenborough has captured how people are saving
practice- hoping that someday, the fight for the climate themselves from natural calamities- notably wildfires in vulnerable climates, meet the needs of billion workers
suffering overheated workplaces and lastly protecting
won’t just be theirs. We’re looking at four revered figures the U.S. It draws attention to how the increase in dry
and their contributions and goals towards climate change lands have contributed to the occurrences of wildfires, the rights of vulnerable persons everywhere.
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