Climate change: Appreciating Ban-Ki moon’s warning as he calls for protecting Earth

Ban-Ki moon warning against complacency, calling for action to protect Earth

By Habib Toumi

Bahrain: Ban-Ki moon’s stern warning that there is only one earth and as such, people have no alternative but to protect it and preserve it should be taken very seriously.

In his keynote speech at the forum commemorating the 10^th anniversary of AsiaN, the media arm of the Asia Journalist Association (AJA), Ban said that climate action and carbon neutral initiatives “are no longer an option but a must” for the world to ensure sustainable living.

Should people fail to act promptly and decisively, “mankind will fail to become carbon neutral and if carbon neutrality fails, earth will also fail. Then, the very basis of human existence will collapse,” he said.

He referred to Verkhoyansk in Russia, one of the coldest places in the world where due to climate changes, the average temperature kept rising almost inexorably.

The absolute temperature difference is close to 100 degrees Celsius, almost the boiling temperature of water, he said.

Ban is an expert on the devastating effects of climate changes. The eighth Secretary-General of United Nations (2007-2016) endeavored to mobilize world leaders around climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics among a set of new global challenges. One of his first major initiatives as the UN Secretary-General was the 2007 Climate Change Summit.

He repeatedly warned that climate change was causing havoc through extreme weather and that the world has to be ready for the future.

Last week, he insisted that climate change, carbon neutrality and environmental, social governance (ESG) transformation required strong and positive attitudes and that people should be committed to addressing them with genuine willpower and wisdom.

Obviously, Ban-Ki moon wants people living precariously in the era of climate change to ground themselves on a bedrock optimism that humanity will work together to confront the global challenge and ensure the sustainable use of our planet

This requires people to become rationally and emotionally aware of how perilous the situation is and think of ways to galvanize their anger over climate frustrations, direct it outward in the form of action and allow themselves to be energized and create change.

Ban-Ki moon was right on calling for greater awareness and resolute action. Climate change has been hitting people for decades now with bigger wildfires and rising seas, and roasting theme under its most scorching temperatures ever, and it will keep inexorably intensifying until they do something about it.

He was absolutely right to warn that should people fail to act promptly and decisively, “mankind will fail to become carbon neutral and if carbon neutrality fails, earth will also fail. Then, the very basis of human existence will collapse.”

Failure would be terrifyingly destructive. Humanity cannot afford it and should fight it with a positive mindset and strong determination.