As an individual who has spent a few years in reading, researching and writing on climate change, the recent event of COP 29 at Baku has left with me with a sense of defeat and absolute helplessness. Nobody is listening to anybody on these issues concerning human lives or their right to sustenance form of living. Topics on Peace initiatives, mitigation and adaptation initiatives are given least importance while war and war-mongering nations are getting the full attention of the world.
Scientific integrity of arguments pertaining to global warming and sea level rise, glacial climate intervention, overall impacts of climate change on global food and water security and soil fertility has had no impact on the nations and global leaders who would rather spend more money on its military and defence either to protect their legitimate sovereignty from aggressors who wish to forcefully occupy their lands or to provide basic necessities like food and water to its starving nation like Sudan and Gaza. So, who do we turn to for financing global adaptation systems. If political leaders and climate leaders have lost their faith in the purpose of Climate Change Agreement, then it is time to just promote the global goal on adaptation that probably will help small island nations or least developed nations and developing nations that require large scale financial assistance to survive the adverse impacts of climate change.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute identifies at least 25 companies profiting most from war topping almost $5 billion in arms and military service sales in 2021 with most of the companies headquartered in the United States, which during the earlier regimes promised contribution to climate finance, and in China that uses the profits to promote its economic aggression in African and Central Asian countries by investing in extractive industries in regions that are conflict ridden and creating a debt-trap for these nations.
The insecurity of nations over their territorial integrity, influx of migrants from war-torn regions, increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons has governing leaders looking for long-term solutions while global warming, floods, forest fires, cyclones and drought have been relegated to oblivion. Ultimately, all problems are anthropogenic and most of them have become endemic that people are learning to live without proper access to food, water and livelihoods. It is not too late for nations like the USA, UK, Germany and China to focus on humanitarian aspects and take up resolution of conflicts and promote peace initiatives in order to present history to its future generations in a more humane manner. Media should headline the absence of proactive measures by world's richest nations to mitigate the plight of innocent civilians across the world scrounging for a meal and glass of fresh water and proper medical aid and question the inertia among leaders in taking up humanitarian causes. Media is powerful but those who can afford should pay for information to gain access to accurate and truthful information in order to take informed decisions.
The European Union has by far been one of the best in finding solutions for climate change impacts and should continue to be world leaders in addressing climate change and global warming. The recent forecast of what might happen after January 2025 should push EU to consolidate its position on the global political map by taking up responsibility for global issues affecting innocent people. EU has always believed in playing a servile role within the international community without really understanding its own strengths and resilience, having survived two world wars. EU is capable of preventing total collapse of systems across the world and take up its role as a global leader in climate change and humanitarian issues.