TSIPOURIDIS & ELMAWI: Year of many firsts leaves humanity gasping for breath of fresh air

In Summary

• Science has been monotonously repeating report after report and COP after COP that we should phase out fossil fuels to reduce CO2 emissions.  

• Unfortunately, the response is woefully inadequate, when not outright in the opposite direction. 

As we proceed to the second day of the Africa Climate Summit, it is crucial to highlight the severity of the climate crisis we face. 

Our scientific community overwhelmingly agrees that human activities, particularly the extraction and consumption of fossil fuels, are the primary drivers of this global environmental catastrophe.

It is bewildering, then, to witness the world granting fossil fuel subsidies amounting to a staggering $7 trillion in 2022 alone. To put this in perspective, that figure exceeds Africa's entire GDP by more than double. 

The last months have been an eye-opener for a lot of people and a nightmare for many more. 

For the first time the manifestations of the brewing climate crisis have been so clear, so intense, so many and so geographically spread out. 

There were new temperature records in many cities all over the globe, with values running in the high 40s and low 50s, and not for one day but for weeks in a row, not to mention the 38o Celsius in South America – in winter time. 

This nightmare was followed by intense wildfires, as everything was ready for combustion after so many days under heatwave conditions. And of course, with the most recent, the Maui fire where reports state even now 1,000 people are still unaccounted for, while in Canada, North Greece and Tenerife fires rage on as these lines are written.  

There were exceptionally intense rainfalls, storms, hurricanes and consequently floods in many regions across the planet. 

But most scary of all was the fact that the globe itself broke its own temperature records. Earth surpassed 17o Celsius at a height of 2m from its surface for three days and this was followed by ocean mean temperature nearing 21o Celsius. 

It is thus obvious that the climate crisis is on the brink of getting out of hand and the global response is not matching the gravity and urgency of the fast-accelerating climate crisis. 

We know that market-oriented policies got us into this mess. Policies that were indifferent about their environmental consequences. Therefore, we cannot rely on them anymore. 

Only science can lead us out of the climate woods and into the clearing. 

Science has been monotonously repeating report after report and COP after COP that we should phase out fossil fuels to reduce CO2 emissions.  

Unfortunately, the response is woefully inadequate, when not outright in the opposite direction. 

Take for example UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s very recent announcement – actually in the midst of the climate record-breaking events – of issuing 100 new oil and gas drilling licences. 

There isn’t anything that can justify this decision and the British parliament should force him to take it back. 

Others chose a more subtle way: 

“A Filipino grandma with two million followers is among the hundreds of influencers who have posted content promoting fossil fuel giants.” 

“DeSmog’s research found that Sangalang is among more than 100 influencers who have been used to promote oil and gas giants worldwide since 2017, from the US to Malaysia, reaching billions of people.”  

You may have your own views on this, but for us, the one conclusion that weighs heavily on the climate crisis is that the fossil fuel lobby is not giving up, and is not heeding the call of science. And that’s terrible news.  

A bunch of “boomers” decide behind closed doors the future of the next generations ignoring the only objective tool in our procession: science. 

Whether globally we are on track to keeping the rise of mean global temperatures below 1.5 C compared to pre-industrial levels has been in doubt, for some time now.  

The real question is where the temperature rise will stop. 

By now, with all the evidence and crises surrounding us, one would expect our world leaders to awaken from their deep slumber.  

The fact that it doesn’t is the scariest of all. 

Tsipouridis is director of Renewable Energy and Climate Change Research Centre

Elmawi is lawyer and executive director at Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) | @OmarElmawi