The millions of citizens rushing to escape Ukraine are a living example of a future we all may have to face. What if we faced seeing our country destroyed in a battle for survival? What would it be like not to have clean water to drink? What if our Montana forests disappeared? What if drought and wind destroyed our farmlands? How would we get fresh food? We face destruction if we fail to meet our commitments to preserve both peace and our planet. Would we have the courage to fight to preserve our democracy as Ukrainians are fighting?
The future of democratic governments and the survival of humanity are being challenged on all sides by violence and global warming. The level of violence and the rising temperature of the earth are in lockstep moving us all toward the edge of a cliff. But we move at a snail’s pace to avoid our own destruction. The 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that our destruction is well underway. We must respond now.
Though there are steps that we could take to reduce these threats, we ignore the signs of our own destruction, sidestepping warnings and scientific research that support the immediate reduction in carbon emissions. We made commitments to slash carbon emissions by 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, and to give billions to help the poorest countries adapt to climate change. Meeting that goal is essential if we are to stay within the 1.5 C impact zones and reduce the instability and suffering of 3.5 billion people, almost half the world’s population.
Meeting this goal is essential if we are to survive. But how? The IPCC Report and the International Monetary Fund support mitigation strategies to reduce fossil fuel CO2 emissions by imposing carbon taxes among other measures. This would allow firms and households to find low-cost ways to reduce energy use and permit us to shift to cleaner alternatives.
The IPCC’s 2018 and 2021 reports submit that “as soon as we get to zero greenhouse gas emissions (down from 36 billion tons a year now), the earth’s temperature will stop rising in a matter of 3-5 years.”
But defending our democracy is also essential to our survival. We must learn to shine light into the darkness that separates us into opposing camps, learn to listen to one another, and reach common objectives that will save us from ourselves and avoid the destruction of our planet. The U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres called the IPCC report “a damning indictment of failed climate leadership. This abdication of leadership is criminal. The world’s biggest polluters are guilty of arson of our only home.”
While we fight over political positions and national boundaries that separate us into armed camps, the deadline for our survival draws near. Will we move quickly enough? Can we find common ground to save ourselves and our precious earth?
Ina Albert lives in Whitefish.