Danger ahead

Scientists have expressed their concerns over Trump’s victory since the president-elect is looking for the ‘quickest’ way to quit the Paris agreement. The Paris agreement is a climate change agreement agreed by almost 200 countries for holding emissions to a level which help prevent global warming from rising more than 2 degree Celsius. In addition to this agreement, the US Clean Power Plan – the deal that aims to reduce emissions in the US – will also be targeted. It is further expected that the Trump presidency will slash the funding of the clean energy projects. The US is the world’s second largest green house gas emitter and it will look into generating power through coal which can be dangerous to climate.

For Trump, ‘climate change is a hoax’. But his opinion cannot change the physics of global warming. The current year, 2016, will be the warmest year on record. The effects of climate change are apparent. In the past couple of years, Pakistan has suffered heatwave, droughts, floods, deadly smog, and extreme temperatures, as a result of uncontrolled carbon emissions across the globe. The developed countries like China, India, Russia, the US, etc contributes significantly towards global emission. The melting of glaciers is increasing the water level which can be dangerous to coastal areas around the world. To save the planet, let us keep fossil fuels underground and turn to renewable and clean energy sources.

Syed Iqbal Ahmad

Karachi