Due to the disastrous and all-encompassing nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, most people have started viewing it as the biggest threat to the human race they will see in their lifetimes. Perhaps, this could actually be the biggest pandemic the world sees in this century; however, this is not even close to being the biggest threat to the human race, and the biggest threat is actually a more silent one waiting to erupt. 

This is none other than the threat posed by environmental degradation and its direct impacts such as extreme weather conditions. Global warming is a much bigger threat than an 18-month pandemic, because it has been brewing for decades and decades. Countries such as Bhutan, which is the best example from the South Asian region, have taken steps to increase and maintain their forest cover while reducing pollution. However, when every member of the global community is not on the same page, it is difficult to change a global threat. When it comes to global warming – even though not every country causes it considerably, the consequences have no boundaries. 

Global warming is real and serious, and it is not a new issue. What is new about it is how it affects the world each passing year as it keeps worsening right under our noses. The world started talking about it again recently in the midst of the pandemic when a spate of heat waves hit a number of western countries. Foreign media outlets had reported that heat waves hit the North-western part of the US and Canada as well as Russia. They reported that the temperature in the US had increased for a record 20 straight days, and that Canada had seen its highest-ever temperature of 49.6 degrees Celsius last month. June 2021 was the second-hottest June in Russia’s recorded history, and the country is expected to record its hottest summer ever by the end of July. Meanwhile, the Death Valley in Southern California, US, recorded the highest daily average temperature ever recorded in the world of 54.4 degrees Celsius. 

We tend to believe that what happens on the other side of the world may have little impacts on us. However, they are a sign of a bigger disaster we will have to deal with at some point in future, most probably after it is too late to rectify what led to extreme weather conditions in the first place. Sri Lanka should be worried – in fact it is islands like Sri Lanka that needs to be worried most because rising water levels is one of the direct impacts of global warming. Sri Lanka should look at and learn from what is happening to its neighbour the Maldives. 

International reports say that since the 1950s, sea levels around the Maldives had increased at a rate of 0.03-0.06 inches per year, and that if the rising water level remains unaddressed, it will be completely inundated by 2085. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Earth Observatory, more than 80% of its 1,190 coral islands stand less than one metre above the sea level. The Maldives recently announced its plans to reduce 26% of its emissions and also achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. The Maldivian Environment Minister, however, lamented that the Maldives alone cannot do it without international collaboration. 

That is the sad reality of this situation – one country alone cannot address it and one country alone will not suffer its consequences. Hence the need for collective action and each country’s individual responsibility. The world has started taking action with a focus on discussing immediate measures with industrialists and governments, imposing new laws and policies, and promoting individual responsibility. However, in a context where researchers have estimated that 80% of the world population would be impacted by climate change by 2050, a question arises as to whether the measures that are being taken are adequate. 

Large-scale initiatives such as the Paris Agreement which encourages countries to limit global warming are good initiatives. But who ensures their implementation in each country is a question. Only those who acknowledge and understand the issue will be able to help. A recent member of this club is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently openly said that climate change is a serious global issue, after ignoring it for years. 

 

Sri Lanka is an island and we cannot rule out the risk of being affected by rising water levels. That is, however, just one issue. Pollution and deforestation among others are issues themselves and are factors that lead to global warming. When addressing the environmental issues within the country in turn helps the country as well as the world, there should not be any hesitation on the part of the authorities.