There is no denying that our planet is experiencing an extreme climate crisis. To make matters worse, the crisis is entirely by our own design. Today’s economic system is designed to maximize production in order to achieve a profit. This constant production of goods, reliant upon fossil fuels, has led to enormous amounts of emissions being released into the atmosphere. The oil and gas industries are the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States. Half of all global industrial emissions can be traced back to 25 corporate and state-owned entities. The evidence is there, yet countries and companies are incapable of coordinating policies that are effective. Furthermore, the system has become entirely globalized, leading to goods and services being shipped all over the world before reaching their final destinations. Another major contributing factor to the climate crisis is the industrial agriculture system. The land, water and energy required to make agriculture efficient are so significant that the planet cannot sustain the current system for much longer.
Today, the science behind climate change is completely impossible to ignore. Despite this, there have been no effective global climate change initiatives. This willful ignorance by politicians and global organizations is shocking. As someone who is incredibly passionate about reversing climate change and belongs to the generation tasked with inheriting a planet that seems to be in disrepair, the state of the environment is one of my biggest concerns.
In recent years there has been a major shift towards renewable energies. Renewable energy is certainly part of the solution in combating climate change, yet renewable energy initiatives come with a whole host of problems. For example, electric vehicles use cobalt, which is found mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC accounts for 70 percent of the global production of cobalt. Cobalt mining in the DRC has resulted in major corruption in the country and severe human rights abuses, not to mention adverse effects on the planet.
Global initiatives to combat climate change do exist; for example, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Global Methane Pledge act as an emissions reduction program. However, countries can engage in emissions trading, where they buy and trade “emissions” to stay under their designated CO₂ limits. Emissions trading may have economic incentives, yet the environment sees no noticeable changes. Furthermore, in 2017, Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement. President-elect Trump has again vowed to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, just even faster this time. In his new presidency, Trump has also vowed to continue fracking and engage in a rapid expansion of oil production, which will only worsen the state of the environment. The point of no return for our planet’s health has essentially been reached, and there is no time for anything but a global policy change dedicated to the environment. The complete reversal of environmental protection policy that will be instituted during Trump’s upcoming presidency is honestly terrifying. Though there seems to be no hope policy-wise, and it will be too late to combat climate change, I take consolation in the fact that I belong to a generation that is relentless and passionate. Collective action is the first step toward climate justice, and together, we have power. The planet cannot wait any longer for action, so even if you have to remind yourself every day to not despair, we must all keep fighting.