Climate change

One of the effects of the unprecedented surge in world-wide economic activity is the rampant and excessive abuse of our natural resources and pollution brought by industrialization. The adverse impact of this abuse could be felt in every corner of this planet in the form of climate change.

The earth's climate is changing over a period of time, but the climate change that we experience since 1800s is caused mainly by human activities. As humans burn coal, oil and fuel, the gases are trapped in the atmosphere forming a “greenhouse effect.” The increasing temperature in the atmosphere affects “rainfall patterns, snow and ice cover, and sea level.”

Developing countries recognize their role in minimizing the adverse impact of global warming. The Kyoto protocol signed in 11 December 1997 set commitment targets to 37 industrialized countries to cut on their green gas emission in a way that it will not jeopardize development. These targets are achieved by emissions trading, Clean Development Mechanism and joint implementation. However, the Kyoto protocol's failure to enable countries especially the developing ones are blamed on it's provisions are not consistent with economic development; are considered “unworkable” or may highlight the vulnerabilities of developing countries in one ADB study.

The failure of countries around the world to make a sincere and concerted effort against global warming which causes abnormal climate change since 1997 caused a toll on thousands of lives and destroyed properties in unimaginable proportion. In 2005, the Hurricane Katrina which swept the state of Louisiana in the United States claimed 1,800 lives and damaged 18 billion dollars worth of properties. In 2005, a great quake and a tsunami in Aceh Indonesia almost converted the whole area into a ghost town. Billions of dollars were lost in property damage and hundreds die in that devastating natural disaster. In 2003, extreme rise in temperature killed 35,000 people in Europe-a figure worse than the number of people who died of SARS in the continent. Global temperature is projected to rise at the end of the century. In the Philippines, the recent flood waters unleashed by typhoon Ondoy and Peping are the result of the climate change. Scientists say that the forest fires in California, Europe and Australia are also linked to the said climate change.

These natural disasters prompted developing and developed countries alike to renew their commitment against global warming and climate change. Climatologists set target to China to cut on its greenhouse gas emission by 2050. In 2008, China leads the world in emitting the highest amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Reports said that if China will not exert more effort in minimizing its greenhouse gas emission, it could experience worse natural disasters.

In the United States, President Obama moves to push congress in favor of facilities which greatly contributes to global warming. Facilities which emit 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide are the subject of the government regulation.

As states and governments are taking steps to minimize greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, every human being who knows the tremendous negative impacts of global warming and climate change should make every effort to save the environment. Up to this date, the earth remains to be the only planet in the universe to hold human and other life-forms. It should be taken cared of and despite rapid and unstoppable economic development, there should be something that the people of today could give to the next generation. Sustainable development is a way in which the economic demands of today are met without jeopardizing the future generation's use of the resources. Sustainable development may be achieved if sanctions are imposed on states which emit huge amounts of carbon in the atmosphere. The lack of it would only reduce every global warming or climate change effort into a copy of the Kyoto Protocol.