Loretto Earth Network News Divest/Reinvest/Commit Spring 2014
Vol. 22, No. 2
Those International Reports on Climate Change By Maureen Fiedler SL
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couple weeks ago, I did an interview on the violent clashes taking place between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. I’ve long since learned that so-called “religious wars” are usually thinly camouflaged economic wars. But one of my guests startled me when I asked him about the underlying causes, and he said “climate change.” Climate change a cause of war today? I know that many analysts have said that it is a possibility in the future once conditions on our planet worsen, but today? Yes, he said. Northern Nigeria, close to the Sahel, is warming. Traditional grazing lands are drying up. The largely Muslim herders are taking their herds to the more fertile farmlands of the south, and Southern Nigerians tend to be Christian farmers. Thus, the clash. This is the kind of future scenario (and worse) that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is trying to warn us about today. It’s a good idea to become acquainted with its findings. And it’s possible to do that without being a climate scientist. IPCC has a comprehensive web site which includes press releases and summary statements: http://www. ipcc.ch/ There have been times when my eyes glazed over at the thought of reading even the report summaries, but I have discovered they are eminently readable. And the future of our planet is wrapped up in what these reports say. They are, after all, prepared by the leading climate scientists of the world. For example, in the latest report issued in April 2014, the Panel had
both alarming messages and positive messages that change is within our grasp. All of these reports assume, of course, that excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are the chief cause of climate change. On the alarming side, the April report said that, “global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen to unprecedented levels despite a growing number of policies to reduce climate change. Emissions grew more quickly between 2000-2010, than in each of the three previous decades.” Gulp! On the hopeful, but realistic side, the report says that limiting emissions of greenhouse gases is possible, “using a wide array of technological measures and changes in behavior to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, only major institutional and technological change will give a better than even chance that global warming will not exceed this threshold.” As you probably know, it is vital for life on Earth as we know it to keep the global mean temperature from rising more than two degrees Celsius. From a practical standpoint, the change called for means that, “Stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere requires emissions reductions from energy production and use, transport, buildings, industry, land use, and human settlements.” Solar or wind power, anyone? Public transportation? Not surprisingly, the report emphasizes the importance of trees
and forests. “Slowing deforestation and planting forests have stopped or even reversed the increase in emissions from land use.” Three cheers for the tree planting at the Motherhouse! But then comes the understatement of the year--something we all know, but can find frustrating: the whole world has to come together to do this. However, we in Loretto might think of it this way: there is probably no better argument for peace in the world than our common need to reverse the effects of climate change. If it doesn’t happen, violence will increase (just as in Nigeria), and we all lose. As the report says, “International cooperation is key for achieving mitigation goals.” But, it continues, “Putting in place the international institutions needed for cooperation is a challenge in itself.” The next international climate negotiations are scheduled for Paris, France, in 2015. Between now and then, we can contact our own government and make clear that global reduction of greenhouse gases is essential for the future of life on Earth, and urge serious and farreaching negotiations. It is an action for peace and for the planet; they are one and the same. Just ask the Nigerians. To hear the full interview the war in Nigeria, go to: http://interfaithradio. org/Story_Details/Christian_Muslim_ Violence_in_Nigeria.