I know my headline is a touchy subject for some green activists all over, especially with all the jobs climate change has created and is still creating.
The various trips to several locations to meet at the COP summits has been nothing but just a gravy train for some. I read somewhere that the current COP30 is the 30th conference of the parties under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a treaty signed in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro that binds the world to ‘avoid dangerous climate change’, without specifying how to do so.
Do not get me wrong, I am all for keeping the environment clean and I simply distaste people who do not care about the environment, such as those who throw away rubbish anyhow and everywhere and generally just litter plastic bags and bottles in mountains and roads.
ALSO READ | Over E800m processed through Eswatini Payment System – CBE
I am also very much against people who decide to destroy our forests, cutting down our natural habitats just to create the state-of-the-art housing complexes or malls. I also get irked when I hear of farmers who overfish without giving a chance to recreate what I would call the circle of life.
However, where I really think we are losing the fight against climate change is this crazy weather patterns. Take for example just this week – it has been raining like crazy and it just looks like there will be no end to it until the rest of the week.
Also, when one looks at the temperature, you can tell that for summer they are really winter temperatures. Like how does one get maximum 12 degree Celsius weather right in the middle of summer? It is very crazy.
The bodies who are fighting against climate change have been calling on people to build stronger houses and/or buildings, but it is just not working. Looking at the severity of storms all over the world lately, I honestly do not believe there is any way we can fight this angry Mother Nature.
We have always known that places like Taiwan and China have been under constant attacks from strong earthquakes and typhoons. However, these days it happens too frequently and there is not even a moment to take a breath before another one hits. It is the same situation in this country and we are really struggling.
As much as the National Disaster Management Agency gives advice, there is just very little that can be done really. The NDMA was just in January trying to fix damage caused by another storm, but just a few months later there was another storm, and another, and another, and it is honestly just not sustainable.
One cannot even predict the weather patterns because of the different types of storms that hit. One second it is a hailstorm, another a windstorm, and then it decides to rain non-stop like it is currently happening this week.
Before we were able to make jokes to our bosses that we could not come to work because the roads were inaccessible as they were slippery and that the rivers were overflowing, but right now this is an honest reality.
Just two weeks ago my heart went out to Jamaica where Hurricane Melissa continued its devastating sweep across the Caribbean, destroying homes and infrastructure, flooding neighbourhoods, and leaving dozens dead.
ALSO READ | Eswatini Mobile launches new 5GB daily data bundle
The impact in Jamaica once the storm was over was major. It was stated that the island nation was targeted squarely by the category five monster – one of the most powerful hurricanes ever measured in the region. At least four people had been confirmed dead there.
Meanwhile, at least another 20 people died during flooding in Haiti as Melissa, which then dwindled to a category one storm, tore through the region. The storm further crossed to The Bahamas, with Bermuda being scheduled to be next in line.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness had described the damage as ‘heartbreaking’, and one town he toured had been ‘completely destroyed’.
It is for this reason that I sit and constantly think if it is worth it to travel to all these nations for the various COP meetings when the earth is just being ravaged throughout and the meetings seem to be bringing no positives as the world continues to be eaten up.
I am not even going to touch on the damage caused to general infrastructure such as electricity lines because what this weather is doing is clearly taking us one step forward and definitely five steps back.
The very planes we take to attend these conferences pollute the earth by releasing greenhouse gases, water vapor, and other particles from burning fossil fuels at high altitudes. These emissions include carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and soot, which contribute to climate change and global warming through both direct warming effects and by forming contrails (vapor trails) and aerosols that trap heat.
Basically, we should all just sit down and keep our local environments clean. If climate change was a football game, I would definitely give humans 0 and climate change 10.
Until next week, do not forget to be kind.
Eswatini Observer Press Reader | View Here
