New Vision (Kampala)
Gerald Tenywa
24 October 2009
analysis
Kampala — SHE nodded in approval. Maria Mwesigwa, who was visiting Parliament, had made a stopover at the parliamentary lobby, where a climate change model was hung.
"I can see people living on bare landscape, their houses are crumbling and the World Food Programme trucks have brought them food," said Mwesigwa.
She was commenting on an illustration demonstrating the impact of climate change. The model, which was handed over by the British High Commission to Parliament on October 22, was assembled by Richard Hammerton to promote awareness on climate change.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Hammerton pointed out that the observations of people like Mwesigwa paint a picture of what the world is likely to be if action is not taken to address climate change. He added: "The hotter, drier climatic conditions mean that crops cannot be grown because of the long dry periods where drought and famine occur regularly. The rainy seasons are unreliable and when the rains come, it is for a short time but with intense downpour, causing floods and landslides, eroding the exposed soil and making the problem worse."
However, the model also shows a future where the negative impacts of climate change can be avoided, according to Hammerton. "This is where Uganda has adopted using clean and efficient technologies," he said. "Important development goals such as education and prosperity have not been obstructed and new technologies and power sources have created new business opportunities."
However, to get to the Promised Land, there is need to make the right choices. For this to be achieved, Hammerton said action needs to be taken at community, national and international levels.
But the barriers include poverty, inadequate development of technologies, which are not readily accessible since they are expensive.
Global warming is caused by waste gases such as carbon-dioxide referred to as Green House Gases, which form a 'blanket' around the earth and is responsible for trapping heat escaping from the earth. This leads to climate change that interrupts weather patterns, causing floods and droughts. The Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, is in the process of being revised and its successor will be agreed upon by world leaders in Copenhagen, in December.
He also advised that developed countries make deep cuts in gas emissions that contribute to climate change. "We have a moral obligation to provide leadership. That is what is expected of us in Copenhagen, Denmark," Hammerton commented.
Martin Shearman, the British High Commissioner to Uganda, said climate change is the most urgent priority, environmental and social-economic problem.
He said Britain has a target of cutting emissions by 80% by 2050 and that this is going to affect the way of life in the UK. "We expect a strong message in Copenhagen," said the envoy.
Parliament has to send a powerful message in Copenhagen (some MPs, particularly on the Forum on climate change, will be attending) during the negotiations in Denmark. He also advised that national development processes address climate change.
He further pointed out that parliamentarians can be big informers. "MPs play a vital role in informing communities and causing change locally."
Unlike Mwesigwa, many grassroot communities have never had an opportunity to come to Parliament. But most of them regularly meet their MPs. With the climate change model at the Parliament lobby, the MPs' role is cut out. They have to grasp the message and teach people at the grassroots.
Isaac Omoding
Is the climate change threat real or is it one of those alleged inventions of the western world? This was the skeptism exhibited at the recently concluded global editor's forum on confronting global warming and achieving energy security in Copenhagen, Denmark.
A sense of panic appears to be setting in among many campaigners for drastic cuts in global carbon emissions. The blame game is at play, but will it solve global warming? Developing countries blame rich countries for the lack of progress. Others blame developing countries like Brazil, China and India for reluctance to sign up to binding carbon cuts.
During the three-day event that attracted 300 editors from 119 countries, Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, warned that tackling climate change later will cost much more than doing it now. He said newspapers and televisions are now full of stories and pictures of deforestation, collapsing icebergs and polar bears.
US President Barack Obama has said about climate change, "the science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear" and "delay is no longer an option".
Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, said while climate change will affect us all, those in the greatest danger live in the poorest countries or small island nations, with the least resources to protect their people.
He said that while all countries need to take steps to reduce emissions, the developed economies must take the lead by making the most dramatic cuts, something within their capability. That they must lead in ensuring that global emissions peak by 2020 and fall by at least 50% from 1990 levels by 2050.
To achieve this, he said industrialised nations need to commit themselves to reduce emissions by between 25 and 40% by 2020, which Japan and the European Union have already pledged to do. He said that fast-emerging economies like Brazil, China, India and South Africa also need to engage meaningfully but in a way that does not prevent them improving standards of living through economic growth.
Annan proposed that the Copenhagen December (COP15) agreement must establish a fund, governed transparently, to support the mitigations and adaptation actions of developing countries.
He said businesses and countries must put the future of the planet before short-term profits because the human race is facing a challenge.
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