Young Reporter - Earth's Urgent Call (Muhammad Ahmed, ICHS)

 By Muhammad Ahmed

In an era defined by the challenges of our time, the Earth is at a crossroads, finding itself between ethical and moral decisions, and the more economical option. This adversary has led to the intense growing of the Climate change crisis, which is able to cause irreversible damage to the Earth in the coming few decades. As temperatures rise and sea levels surge, collective responsibility is detrimental to ensure a secure future for the coming generations ahead.

What causes climate change?

Primarily, climate change is caused by the activities of humans, such as rapid industrialization and burning of fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Naturally, these are present and keep the Earth warm when the sun sets. However, since the 19th century, when the industrial revolution took place, this cycle has been disrupted on an extreme scale. Now, there are more greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere than ever before, and as a result of this, temperatures are increasing exponentially. This has a devastating effect on wildlife, as forest fires and extreme weather has become more common, which leads to changes in migration patterns, ultimately leading to less biodiversity, damaging ecosystems on a large enough scale that species are becoming endangered, such as the rhino.

By extension, non-renewable resources also pollute the air. For example, coal, oil and gas. These resources are bound to run out one day and are being used up at an alarming rate. This causes the rapid rising of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, where they become trapped, ultimately heating the Earth up. Ms. Chrisostomou, a teacher at Ilford County High School shares her opinion – “I think that the burning of fossil fuels is certainly the biggest factor which contributes to climate change”. However, Laibah, an investment banker at Morgan Stanley has a different view on the situation - she states, “I think that certainly, the natural gas we use on a day-to-day basis is the biggest contributor to climate change”. More information will be provided on these factors in the coming sections.

Coal – how does it contribute to the crisis?

The combustion of coal is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), CO2 emissions from coal exceeded 10.8 gigatons in 2019. This is mainly from the excess use of coal in Low Income Developing Countries, such as Bangladesh. These LIDCs use coal for public transport, and industrial uses such as making clothes in factories.

Beyond CO2, the extraction of coal from coal mines and its combustion can release methane (CH4) and black carbon, also known as soot. Methane is extremely poisonous, and destroys the surrounding air quality, resulting in respiratory and cardiovascular effects. Black coal, although it is not as poisonous and life-threatening as Methane, it contributes to global warming by absorbing sunlight. This is due to its high albedo, because of its dark colour.

Lastly, coal tends to have a high carbon intensity, meaning that the amount of CO2 emitted per unit volume is significantly higher than other non-renewable sources, making it a vehicle for global warming to thrive. This results in rising sea levels and higher temperatures.

Oil – what effect does it have on global warming and climate change?

               Oil, like coal, is a large contributor to climate change. The burning of oil products, such as gasoline and diesel, has a net output of over 9.8 gigatons, according to the IEA as of 2019. The use of this is predominantly in internal combustion engines, in which these resources are burnt, and as a result release greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately polluting the surrounding air.

              Oil extraction, with countries which possess a high biodiversity such as Brazil, can contribute highly to deforestation. For example, the destruction of peat bogs, which contain plants which aren’t fully decomposed have large amounts of CO2 and methane. When this land is destroyed for oil exploration, the gases come into contact and bond with the air, contributing to the crisis of climate change.

Natural Gas – how does this contribute to global warming?  

Although natural gas tends to produce less CO2 emissions than coal, it still has a significant carbon output. Furthermore, the extraction and production of natural gas can result in methane emissions, which by extension, contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect.

Also, there are concerns on the leakage of methane whilst transporting natural gas, which can offset the benefits of climate using natural gas. An example of a severe natural gas leakage was the 2015 Aliso Canyon storage facility in Southern California. The facility had experienced an extremely destructive natural gas leakage, lasting several months on end before a suitable solution could be found.

Economic pressure

Not only does global warming harm the environment, it has a devastating impact on the economy and on people. Firstly, the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events can lead to a rise in injuries and illnesses, such as cholera. This puts further restrictions on health services, after already having to cope with mass deaths of civilians. By extension, healthcare services can see increased demand for patients to be admitted due to cardiovascular problems, which can be caused by heatstroke, dehydration and further intensification of pre-lying medical conditions, such as diabetes or migraine; both of which can intensify with increasing heat. Moreover, governments are also prone to more pressure, due to new restrictions being put into place regarding the limitation of certain materials, thus straining the growth of infrastructure.

So, who’s to blame?

The first idea which comes to mind is that LIDCs (Low Income Developing Countries) and EDCs (Economically Developing Countries) are to blame. This is because currently, they are going through their own industrial revolution, which ACs (Advanced Countries) had gone through approximately 200 years ago. As a result of this, LIDCs and EDCs are prone to get the blame for global warming, as currently, EDCs like China and India have an extremely large carbon footprint, alongside LIDCs like Bangladesh, who manufacture clothes for institutions like M&S and Primark.

However, ACs are equally as responsible. The extensive release of greenhouse gases from EDCs and LIDCs in the East are because of increasing demand for products in the West, such as ‘fast fashion’. Ms. Chrisostomou, a teacher at Ilford County High School proceeds to state that “I know fast fashion is a bad habit, but I always want to change the clothes I wear”. This results in more CO2 being released into the atmosphere as a result of increased demands for these types of clothing.

More evidence showing that ACs are equally as responsible to the climate change crisis is shown by the carbon output per capita. Overall, China releases 10.1 tonnes of carbon pollution annually. This is for 1.4 billion civilians. However, the US has 17.6 billion of carbon output per annum, according to the Rhodium group, showing that the average Chinese person uses far less energy than the average American, further accentuating that LIDCs and EDCs are not completely to blame; collective responsibility must be taken.

What can we do moving forward?
 

Moving forward, we must try to choose the sustainable option. However, Ms. Chrisostomou says “I don’t think that choosing the sustainable option is always the best choice. The products come in at a higher price point and it is only worth it if you can afford it”. This shows how the sustainable option isn’t always the choice to choose, but other conventional products are better for use instead.

However, whilst global leaders begin to negotiate prices and agreements, each and every individual plays a vital role in the battle against climate change. Whether it be making sustainable life choices or striving for change in our local communities, the collective effort of us as human beings can far supersede that of any government or a treaty. As we navigate our lives through the sheer and utter complexity of the climate change crisis, we must create a path which our future generations can walk on. Our present will shape the future of this world.