The world faces an urgent battle against climate change that ultimately reveals the foolish desire of humanity to call for accountability instead of action. It’s not a question of “who did what?” or “who should do what?” but more of “what should we do?”
This global issue is of the essence, and a call for action should be expedient as the damage to the atmospheric spheres of the earth is seemingly irreversible.
Since 2007, human activities have elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations by 50 percent due to coal, oil, and gas production, emitting billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. Its impact means a startling decline in our environment and many other sectors of our society. Thus, with our so-called leaders choosing resiliency as a response, more climate change-related implications will continue to intensify in the following decades.
The climate crisis has not been our utmost priority. In the Philippines, for example, platforms of aspiring presidential candidates in the recently concluded elections were more focused on the economic and agricultural sectors, unemployment, housing, and trade, to name a few. Although these concerns are highly relevant, we cannot deny that most of these are also highly dependent on the country’s environmental state.
On the other hand, while government responsiveness and support are crucial factors in a climate movement, it is still highly expected from the public sector to initiate practical actions. After all, our choice to help aid our environment does not lie within the approval of anyone. We can do this by simply switching to renewable energy sources, planting more trees, and reducing energy use in our homes.
Being informed of the potential impacts alone and not creating feasible and relevant solutions is not far different from holding a loaded gun but not using it to fight in the battle. Awareness, resiliency, and accountability are not enough. It’s high time that we promote a sense of urgency among others and join forces in taking immediate measures to make the world a safe place to live in. By the end of the day, our actions toward this matter say a lot about how we envision the future we want to have.
Let us save the earth not because we want to—but because we need to.
ANNE NORMANE PIA G. REVITA,
ap.revita23@gmail.com