The World Meteorological organization has said that the global temperature is expected to increase by 1.5°C by 2029. This is it. There are no palliative actions. There are none of the cutbacks on greenhouse gas emissions, or reductions recommended by the WMO, that would stop this increase in temperature. It is happening, and we all are watching. Global warming can now no longer be put off as a future problem. It is happening now, and its consequences will be upon us.The significance of the 1.5°C figure is that is what the world vowed to keep the temperature down to, allowing the temperature, to rise no more than 1.5°C about the global average from 1850 to 1900, when there was a sudden increase in the burning of fossil fuels, when mankind entered what has been called the Anthropocene Era, when human activities finally had an effect on the climate. All countries had agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2014 as a first step. However, US President Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement in his first term, saying that climate change was just a conspiracy by the Chinese to stop America becoming great again.
The problem is that the USA is the worst offender in emitting GHG. The problem cannot be fixed without it playing its part. The USA rejoined the Paris Accord under the Biden Administration, but Mr Trump has withdrawn ywt again. This ding-dong approach to a serious matter is very unhelpful. Mr Trump seems antagonised by the restraints that would have to put on oil exploration and shale-oil fracking, but the alternative is being borne by countries like Pakistan, which is one of the countries experiencing worst floods and greater heatwaves. It does seem unfair that poor countries like Pakistan should suffer even though they gig not produce enough GHG to cause the global warming. Though the recent COP28 called for $1 trillion a year in financing, experts say that is far from enough. However, matters seem to have gone too far for there to be much concern to spare about climate justice.
Perhaps the biggest problem the world faces is that it is divided in nations-states on the old Westphalian model. The problem facing the world is that it is far too great for one country to fix. It requires a global effort, a global leadership, a global authority, which is presently nowhere on the horizon.
