In the article, “Five years since the Paris Agreement,
the world must get ambitious on climate action”, Sharma (2020) addressed the
world’s efforts to reduce the existing effects on climate change at the global
Climate Ambition Summit. As of the fifth year of the Paris Agreement,
Sharma noted that a total of 75 leaders are committed to including net-zero
energy, nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and adaptations and
resilience in their plans. Amongst the submitted revised plans for climate
action, he highlighted that president Xi Jing Ping announced that China will
reach carbon neutrality before 2060. He also mentioned that Singapore
intends to invest in environment-centric projects whilst Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong encourages globally to work together. In addition, Sharma
emphasizes that a significant change in ambition is necessary to tackle climate
change. Thus, improvements must take place by the world leaders: increased
international resolve and partnership. Sharma (2020) concluded that the progress
on the COVID-19 vaccines had proven that nothing is impossible if everyone
works together to combat climate change. I agree that individual efforts are as
important as the world’s partnership efforts because the awareness of
every individual matter to combat climate change.
Individual efforts in reducing the existing effects of climate change are
important because our actions influence the people around us. Rowlatt (2019)
affirms that “our actions do influence the people around us”. An example would
be Greta Thunberg, who is a teenage climate activist. One embarkation
Greta exemplify was opting to be whisked across the Atlantic on a racing yacht
instead of taking the plane to her climate change meetings in New York. As a
teenager, it is speculated that it has captured the world’s attention. Clearly,
the example of Greta has demonstrated that individuals do possess the capacity
to make an impact on reducing the effects of climate change. Even if our
efforts might not be as large scale, I am still convinced that there is still hope to be part of the solution in
reducing the effects of climate change.
With that said, the affluent have a greater individual responsibility, given that they exert a larger impact on the environment, in terms of carbon emissions. According to Bhalla and Barclay (2020), the richest 10% of the world’s population were responsible for 52% of cumulative carbon emissions and ate up 31% of the world’s carbon budget from 1990 to 2015. The high purchasing power entails them to consume more which is directly proportional to the carbon emissions emitted. Therefore, affluent individuals should acknowledge the significant role they play in exacerbating the effects of climate and act upon it.
A solution that helps shift the individual mindset to act on climate change would be the education platform. Education is a powerful platform to raise awareness of global warming because it educates individuals to be more aware of the current effects of climate change. Furthermore, Sharma (2020) mentioned that climate change is not an issue that the government can solve alone but it takes every individual to act on it. Tan (2018) stated in a survey done in 2016, that only “9 out of 10 were concerned about the effects of climate change on future generations.” Through this statement, it is evident that not all individuals are aware of the existing effects of climate change. Hence, I believe in educating individuals from a young age to cultivate a like-minded mindset towards reaching climate goals.
Overall, though some may feel that individual efforts do not matter because they are merely one out of the seven billion people, I conclude that every individual has a huge role to play in reaching the Paris agreement goals. Therefore, I agree with Sharma that everyone needs to work together to combat the existing effects of climate change.
References:
Alok, S. (2020, 20 December). Commentary: Five years since Paris Agreement, world must get ambitious on climate action. Channel News Asia. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/uncop26-climate-change-commitment-net-zero-clean-energy-uk-13798700
Justin, R. (2019, 19 September). Climate change action: We can’t all be Greta, but your choices have a ripple effect. BBC News.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49756280
Audrey,
T.(2018, 27 January). Climate change: Many think they can’t make a
difference. The Straits Times.
Jag, B and
Eliza B. (2020, 20 November). How affluent people can end their
mindless overconsumption. Vox.
Climate change is accelerating because of rich consumers’ energy use. Here are some solutions. - Vox
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