Editorial

The catastrophic threat of climate change

Many in our Caribbean community in Toronto have been mumbling and grumbling lately about winter-like weather in Spring.

It’s already April, in case you are not aware, and just a few days ago there was snow on the ground in the Greater Toronto Area and with the wicked prevailing winds, the winter coats came back out of the cupboards.

If the polar bears could talk, they would no doubt be complaining not about the snow but about climate change which is affecting their habitat up North.

And from down South in the Caribbean we are also hearing reports of the adverse effects of climate change. With rising ocean levels , some of our beloved islands may just disappear.

Clearly,  climate change  is the greatest long-term threat we face as a global community.

But what is to be done about it ?

Just last week leaders from developed and developing countries met in a virtual White House summit to discuss this immense  threat.

In  an op-ed piece in this issue of The Caribbean Camera,  Carlton Joseph called the summit a success.

As Joseph noted, the summit assembled leaders representing 82 per cent of world’s carbon emissions, 73 per cent of the  population of thte world and 86 per cent of world economic output, to commit to bold climate action.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in his address, highlighted the importance of working with other global leaders to tackle climate change, create growth, and improve the well-being of all people.

“Canada is a committed partner in the global fight against climate change, and together we will build a cleaner and more prosperous future for all, ” Trudeau said,.

Of  course, fine speeches alone will  not solve the problem.

Developing countries reiterated that they were being asked to make sacrifices even though they had contributed little to the problem, and that they needed money to cope. 

As Antigua and Barbuda’s  Prime Minister Gaston Browne  noted at the summit,  the 44 members of the Alliance of Small Island States were the least contributors to greenhouse gas emissions but confront the greatest threats of climate change.

Clearly, Browne was not exaggerating.

We  hope that the leaders of the developed countries realize that climate change is a global problem which calls for a global solution and that developing countries such as those in the Caribbean will receive the help they need to deal with  this catastrophic threat.