The planet in crisis – Article by Eleni Mavrou, AKEL Political Bureau member

 

7 November 2021, “Haravgi” newspaper

With the world still struggling with the consequences of the pandemic and economic crisis, I’m not sure if many people have turned their attention these days to the gathering of world leaders in Glasgow discussing measures to address the climate crisis. After all, the timeframes of 20, 30, 50 years seem far away to many people.

To those who think that climate change is some abstract threat that may occur at some point in the future, scientists say that climate change is already happening. Severe weather phenomena, frequent floods, droughts, storms, prolonged heat waves, melting glaciers and rising sea levels are just some of the effects.

And all this is but the predictable result of the destruction of nature by human activity, which will cause far greater problems if it continues unchecked.

The failure to protect the environment, this precious and irreplaceable public good, is a burden on everyone. But it falls mainly on governments and multinationals, which exploit people and the planet for profit and have led the planet to this catastrophic situation.

A radical reorganisation of the conditions for coexistence between humanity and nature is now an urgent necessity. Humanity desperately needs a model of viable and sustainable development based on fundamental social and environmental principles.

The persistence of the major economies to remain faithful to the perverse model of “development’ that has created the climate crisis we are experiencing is dangerous for the entire planet. They continue to invest in fossil fuels and new extractive industries, while at the same time talking about “green investments”. The G20 countries alone are responsible for almost 80% of global emissions, yet many of them are not making an effort to improve their national climate plans.

Cyprus is no exception. We heard the President of the Republic talk about Cyprus’ contribution to tackling climate change. At a time when Cyprus is lagging far behind in the use of renewable energy sources. At a time when Cyprus is already paying a fine for excessive emissions of pollutants outside the agreed targets and when we are not expected to meet the European emission reduction targets.

Climate change is not only about our attitude towards nature, but above all towards future generations. Tackling it will demand major changes in our energy use, administrative and economic planning, as well as in our daily lives too. It demands investment in renewable energy sources and energy saving. It needs better built cities so that less travel is required. It requires changes in our consumption habits.

It demands, in short, concrete measures from governments and societies throughout the world.