Climate Change or the Global Warming is a reality that could not be ignored in the present time whereas it has now underway huge demonstrating its symptoms in term of typhoons, heat waves, floods, hurricanes and in the areas that they haven’t ever heard about. The causes however of many of the changes are deemed to be anthropogenic and mean that the change in people’s attitude towards the problem can bring a change in the environmental conditions. It could be enormously accredited to the incessantly rising development and the release of toxic gases and contaminants that are harming the outer layer of the atmosphere, which is, consecutively, harming the natural-climate and the overall atmosphere of the earth. The failing atmospheric environment is a problem for the entire earth; however, the cities which are near to the coastal areas are at high-risk from the increasing level of the sea and the effects of hurricanes.
Global warming includes many atmospheric problems that are befalling the earth all at the similar time. The Major problems comprise of melting-down of the glaciers, high temperatures droughts, adverse atmosphere for vegetation and planting etc. The increasing level of water in oceans is also making a delinquency for the individuals that are living nearby the oceans or on the islands. Maldives, a nation that is an Archipelago involving of numerous small islands is at risk to be sinking, and its entire entirety will vanish. The erratic change of weather and atmosphere and sudden periodic changes have serious insinuations about the globe and socio-economic situation of the individuals that are living there(Root et al.).
Figure 1(UK)
The above graph shows the increase in temperature from 1880 to 2000. The average temperature has increased significantly in the last decade.
The rising sea levels are predicted to increase their speed multifold and trump all the previous projections. There is a chance that because of the worsening conditions of certain regions the migration will lead to a global refugee crisis that is already in place because of the present political and socio-economic reasons. Several coasts areas and Islands are at a greater risk of entirely sinking and would led to massive epidemics and migrations that could make more catastrophe in the increasingly unbalanced worldwide political condition.
The scientists believe that the global warming is real and can wipe out the entire population of the planet in a period if the proper steps are not taken. Conference of Parties (COP) 21 was the only step that showed promise and resolve of all the states in solving the problem of global warming. However, because it was deemed a hoax by the president of the US, it lost its importance in some circles. The US is pulling out of the agreement lead to the renewal of debate on whether or not global warming is a problem at all. So, who is there to help the cities that are in grave danger of being hit first by the global warming as they are closer to the seas that are persistently rising? There have been certain plans in different cities that are capable of creating a shield against some of the environment-related devastations that can befall the coastal towns and Islands(Cline).
Some coastal cities have been fortunate to have vigilant city governance that sees and acknowledges the problems of climate change. New York is one of those towns has developed a coalition of city officials and scientists to help assist with the needed action and projections of how the climate change may affect the urban areas. They have also started Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) a society of scientists to research and provide projections to the city government officials for taking action in their respective cities. This Plan will have a global impact as it focuses on making the urban areas safer and a model to be followed by other cities. As cities are smaller than the nations, they are more manageable and can be made better easily. The focus of city planning against the climate change is mostly in the slums; as average people living in more deprived areas are seen to get more damage from the water level rise. The planners propose of risk assessment before building any new project in the city. The vigilance in this regard can save many resources and help in fighting against the menace of rapid climate change.
The security concerns have drastically changed because of the atmospheric issues, and the enemies in the global political arena are many, but the worst and familiar to everyone’s survival is the constantly deteriorating atmosphere. The rising nontraditional threats are becoming a grave concern for the states around the globe. The atmospheric deterioration and the global warming are ringing the bells of danger. The rapidly melting glaciers and a drastic change in the weather are raising concerns about the future of the planet earth. It can be vastly contributed to the continually growing industrialization and the emission of pollutants damaging the outer layer of the atmosphere, which is, in turn, damaging the natural climate. The short time gains of the atmospheric polluters are damaging the world for a longer term. Nonetheless, few of the nation-states have realized the cacophony of the atmosphere and the damage caused to it. Nations that do not see eye to eye on a lot of matters are bound to come together in regards to problems occurring in the atmosphere because it is a common enemy to all.
Conference of parties is a conference that is held under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP 21 the 21st of the conference of parties has been considered as the most successful step in a feat of countering the global warming and the problems it ensues. The fact that in COP21, 177 parties signed the agreement is a historical event. Round the globe, 174 countries and the European Union signed the agreement on a single day, i.e., 22 April 2015. It is by far the most successful and influential Multilateral Environmental Treaty (MEA). It has the biggest number of signatories, and their resolve to do something big about the atmospheric degradation seemed very real. There have been a lot of bilateral and multilateral treaties before, but due to current signs of rapid climate change that has shown itself currently has made it a huge concern for the parties, i.e., in this case: every Nation in the World. The world leaders settled on implementing an “ambitious and balanced” final agreement, including a “legally-binding” contract to keep global warming well below 2C”(United Nations, 2015). The issue will be solved by limiting the emission of the greenhouse gases. It might be hard to do for the developing countries, but it seems to be an effective agreement, and all of the countries agree to comply with it. United States had been a part of it and one of the main proponents of COP 21 resolutions, but with the advent of the presidency of Donald Trump, the situation has changed. As president Trump considers global warming a hoax created by China hence not having any consequences he has pulled America back on the issue. United States has also pulled out of the COP 21 accord under the presidency of Donald Trump.\
Figure 2(Climate Change in the U.S. in 8 Compelling Charts)
The above maps show that average temperature across different states of the United States. The maps show that there is a significant increase in temperature due to global warming.
Glaciers are melting, and that can be attributed to the warming of the atmosphere. The glaciers around the globe have been used as a steady reservoir of water and have been used for drinking and other domestic and agricultural purposes. The water from these reservoirs is slowly getting limited, and the glaciers are depleting in some cases quite abruptly. These glaciers are a very clear factor that determines the presence of a problem with the atmosphere. Scientists believe that the glaciers are melting fast and are in the process of completely ending in some cases. The glaciers that have been employed by people in many parts of the earth for domestic water use are shrinking in size. Melting glaciers are a growing problem and are on constant upward trajectory. Some atmospheric change sceptics believe there is no truth to it, but scientists have nothing to gain from creating panic in people over this matter. The glaciers are indeed shrinking, and an example of it can be seen in case of Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. The number of glaciers at the time the park was built was 150 that have now left to below 30 glaciers, and the currently present glaciers are way smaller than the original sizes at the time of creation of the park(Agarwal and Narain).
Figure 3(Climate Change in the U.S. in 8 Compelling Charts)
American People are very worried about the global warming and its diverse effects on the atmosphere. The above chat shows that one out of five American is concerned about the global warming.
Some sceptics of the atmospheric change believe that the growing amount of CO2 in the atmosphere does not necessarily mean that the temperature will also rise. They cite certain charts saying that there is a pause in temperature increase and that means that the temperature is not subject to change about CO2. They believe that the atmospheric change is a constant process and the cycle of Ice Age and the warming of the earth is the reason for the current temperature change and not the pollution. However, they neglect the continually changing seasons and the gaps between them. The unpredictability of atmospheric and seasons is one of the problems that are truly baffling and bad for the atmosphere and can be easily seen happening in the current global scenario. The changes are very apparent and cannot be denied because of people’s will.
The atmospheric situation is constantly on a lower trajectory going towards bad, but there are some hopeful elements. The two biggest emitters of CO2 United States of America and China of Which one that was always considered as reluctant to cut back on its Carbon emission was China. However, China has become a leading member of the COP 21 plan and also started work on cutting back on its CO2 emission. There is a focus of China on using renewable energy and stepping away from the use of fuels that had a bad effect on the atmosphere. The projections of lower CO2 emissions are one thing, but China did cut back on its use of coal. China is using a quality of coal that leads to the emission of less CO2. The USA, on the other hand, has taken a U-turn on climate change issues in the era of president Donald Trump However the inner functioning of the country has not left the problem at a side. The Trump administration has taken a step back and reiterates that the US should not spend money on an issue that according to trump is a lie concocted by China. However, the climate change discourse has not completely been subsided, and the outcry against the administration might lead to a rethinking of the matter by the administration.
The Deteriorating atmospheric conditions are a problem for the entire globe and have grave implications for it. As the problem is global, it needs a global determination for its resolution. The steps like COP 21 are a positive indication that the global leaders have come together and will come together against the common enemy, i.e., global warming. The US has stepped back from the issue under the current president but the clear-cut indications of global atmospheric deterioration cannot be neglected for long. The indications will have to be acknowledged and taken steps against to ensure the survival of all the species on earth. The fact that almost all of the countries have come together at COP 21 once indicates that joint action can be taken shortly to implement a system that regulates the pollutants emission and in turn lowers the causes of deteriorating the atmosphere.
Works Cited
Agarwal, Anil, and Sunita Narain. “Global Warming in an Unequal World: A Case of Environmental Colonialism.” Global Warming in an Unequal World: A Case of Environmental Colonialism, Centre for Science and Environment, 1991.
Climate Change in the U.S. in 8 Compelling Charts. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-in-8-compelling-charts-17406. Accessed 5 Dec. 2017.
Cline, William R. The Economics of Global Warming. Institute for International Economics, 1992.
Root, Terry L., et al. “Fingerprints of Global Warming on Wild Animals and Plants.” Nature, vol. 421, no. 6918, 2003, pp. 57–60.
The UK, Jim Edwards and Jim Edwards, Business Insider. “Even the Charts Used by Climate-Change Deniers Show That Temperatures Are Getting Warmer.” Business Insider, http://www.businessinsider.com/charts-and-statistics-on-global-warming-climate-change-2015-12. Accessed 5 Dec. 2017.
