Climate change is a monumental crisis that calls for global response

Youth climate activists Magali Cho Lin Wing from Britain, Eric Njuguna from Kenya, Nicole Becker from Argentina, and Kato Ewekia Taomia from Tuvalu take part in a session during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 4, 2021. [Reuters, Yves Herman]

For the past few decades, mounting evidence has pointed to human activity as the cause of global climate change.

The use of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil has fundamentally increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

These gases act as a blanket that retains radiation that originally came from the sun and is released from the ground, thus causing net warming of the planet.

Global warming causes a chain reaction that if not stopped or reversed, will probably have devastating effects in our lifetimes. For instance, the melting Polar Ice Caps in the north and south poles will change the volume, salinity, temperature and other chemical qualities of the seas - thus causing extreme weather such as hurricanes and typhoons, drought, excess rain, heatwaves, forest fires that further releases carbon dioxide (CO2), and desertification that have become commonplace.

The melting of glaziers on top of mountains and mountain ranges jeopardises the water supply for millions of downstream communities that rely on rivers that originate there.

Those living in coastal areas and other low-lying places such as the Island Nations of Kiribati, the Maldives, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Samoa and Nauru will likely be the first to have to relocate their entire populations to other territories when the seas rise. Where will they go? Under what framework will this happen? Climate change is a global crisis that will need a global response.

Sadly, the nations that have contributed the least to global warming are the ones that will likely be most affected by it because of the lack of resources to mitigate the effects of climate change. Africa is particularly vulnerable. We do not have the political leverage to cause polluting countries to act responsibly and we will have to deal with increased poverty, famine, human conflict, disease and malnourishment.

Historically, the largest proportion of greenhouse gases has been and is still being generated by the most industrialised nations like the US, China, India, Russia, Japan and others. Sadly, some of them are still actively fuelling their economies through dirty sources such as coal despite the knowledge of the effects. Also, countries that have recently discovered oil or coal see it as a chance to similarly develop and transform the lives of their people.

As world leaders meet in Glasgow, UK, for the UN Climate Change Conference, real commitments must be made to forestall a global disaster. Of great urgency is the immediate reduction of CO2 levels, especially by the big polluters. Second, the global community should incentivise investment in alternative and sustainable sources and the use of energy to break the chain of pollution.

Third, create a global plan to protect and rehabilitate our forests, also called carbon sinks, that absorb and lock up harmful carbon in leaves, trunks, roots, deadwood, and surrounding soil through photosynthesis. Such forests should never be harvested for the plan to work.

Fourth, mechanisms must be created to provide developing countries with the resources and know-how to adopt environmentally sustainable practices. Observers hope that global leaders will rise to the occasion and make real commitments as opposed to empty rhetoric.

Due to geopolitical realities and power imbalances, the fate of the earth will mostly be determined by the actions of the powerful and industrialised nations that have disproportionately benefited from the unfettered use of fossil fuel over the years.

For the sake of humanity, I hope that they come up with an equitable and effective formula that will work for all nations.