Climate change and the COP 28

The COP 28, known as the conference of parties, will meet for the 28th time in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai is booming like crazy. It’s gone a long way since the desert of 1974.

Not much has been done to mitigate the reduction of atmospheric greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide. Only a lot of hype and talk have taken place and yes, a little change in the energy mix to solar, wind and hydropower.

Sadly fossil fuels of coal, gas and oil have never been more used.

The summer of 2023 has been recorded as the hottest in history, with wild fires and temperatures reaching as hot as 50 degrees or more. While traveling to Greece and Spain this year, we were greeted by heat waves in Athens and Madrid, only to be followed by torrential rains and flooding never seen before.

In Libya more than 11,000 have perished in the worst floods in history, while the wild fires that hit Canada, the United States and parts of Europe and Asia show no mercy.

Climate catastophes are coming as expected, stronger than ever. More people are dying from climate change than actual wars.

What will the agenda of COP 28 include? Except all the social, economic and environmental damage done to planet Earth. I can only surmise that the global economy and ecology has never been so bruised.

The COP will try to get greenhouse gas reductions and I pray they do.

Like I said many times, we are at the threshold of an ecological time bomb and we do not have the luxury of time.

Act now or the planet will destroy all life and our civilization as we know it. — Antonio M. Claparols, president, Ecological Society of the Philippines