Shari Della Penna
  • Home
  • About
    • My family
    • My work
    • My favorites
    • FAQ's
  • Contact
  • Blog

"Small acts of kindness can change and humanise our world."
   Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 1948-2020
   ​Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1991-2020
                         Author, Advocate, Advisor

COP27 What It is and Why It Matters (pt 2)

12/6/2022

0 Comments

 
    … if you don’t specifically say This piece of land can never be used for anything but enjoying nature, it will eventually turn into a Dunkin-Donuts, a car dealership, or a nail salon.
    Not many people visit the preserve…It’s one huge chunk of beautiful land…[with] woods surrounding it all.
                              from The First Rule of Climate Club
                                         written by Carry Firestone
                 G. P. Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House, 2022

    Two weeks ago 198 nations met in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to discuss Climate Change. You might remember The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015. Or the Kyoto Protocol, its precursor. 
    As early as 1992, The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognized the need to pay attention to our environment and made plans to slow the rate of change. The participating governments agreed “that mobilizing stronger and more ambitious climate action is urgently required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.” UNFCCC 
    Several countries on the global stage did not send their leaders: Argentina, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Turkey, China, and Russia. Indonesia, one of the most vulnerable countries, sent its Vice-President.
    The participating countries reaffirmed their commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The goal was the target of the Paris Agreement.
    Scientists say that allowing the global temperature to rise only 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial times (1850-1900) will avert the worst calamities brought about by a warming earth. The United Nations established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 to provide a framework for measuring climate change. It defines terms like “pre-industrial” and standardizes tools to measure not only Earth’s overall temperature, but what progress is being made in carbon-emission reductions, or not, and how close we’re getting to the 1.5 degree threshold. As of 2017, Earth has warmed one degree.
    Our Earth is large and multi-faceted. When climate scientists describe 1.5, glaciers and glacier-melt combine with equatorial deserts and tropical forests to provide an average. According to NASA, “the strongest warming is happening in the Arctic during its cool seasons, and in Earth’s mid-latitude regions during the warm season.” Some areas are more vulnerable than others. Some island-nations are already experiencing catastrophic conditions.    
    Even we in the United States are not immune to hurricanes, tornadoes, record snowfall, droughts, and wildfires. 
    At 1.5, NASA projects that 14% of Earth’s population will be exposed to heatwaves at least once every five years. Early this past September, 2022, the western US saw a massive heat dome that fueled wildfires, stressed the power grid, and caused death. 
    At 1.5, sea-levels will continue to rise, given the rate of glacial melt, although the rise will be slower if we reduce our carbon emissions. The inevitable increase in acidification of the oceans will be slower, too, if oceans absorb less carbon.
    Maybe the best news for our shared world was the announcement of the new Loss and Damage Funding. It will provide money to vulnerable countries already experiencing climate catastrophes. Pledges totaling more than 230 million US Dollars were made to the Adaptation Fund. The Funding Committee is scheduled to meet in March, 2023, and a report will be considered at COP28 next year.
    Known as the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, at least four to six trillion US Dollars per year ($4,000,000,000,000.00 - $6,000,000,000,000.00) are required. That’s a lot of money. Where it will come from is still being determined. 
    All countries have obligations to their citizens. All governments need to protect their own economies. All leaders need to balance the needs of the individual with society as a whole.
    But the only way we citizens of the world can help stabilize our world is to convince our leaders to work together. COP27 is a step in the right direction.
               -—be curious! (and show Mother Earth your love) 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

         I'm a children's writer and poet intent on observing the world and nurturing those I find in my small space .

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly