‘Forget the detractors; global warming is upon us’: Joe Issa Shares Alarming Facts

Advocate of environmental protection Joe Issa has expressed concerns following a recent Observer story which painted gloomy images of what Jamaica could face in the future, stating that the alarming facts have heightened belief that mankind is indeed sewing its own seeds of destruction, and people must be made aware of this.

“The article reinforced my own belief that man-made global warming is very real and we must avoid complacency when it comes to its devastating impact on Jamaica and the Caribbean,” said Issa, noting, “Mankind is indeed sewing its own seeds of destruction, and people must be made aware of the dangers.”

He argues that “scientists have been warning us for quite some time, that if we do not limit the amount of CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere we will pay the price later, in terms of lost property along our coastline as a result of rising sea level,” citing properties like hotels, restaurants and entertainment places, as well as airports and seaports.

“When you factor in the increasingly intensive weather systems that we have seen of late, which is believed to be fueled by global warming, and the resultant loss of lives and property and other resources like agriculture, livestock, fish sanctuaries, flora and fauna, this definitely begs for greater resilience and adaptation of Caribbean nations including our own,” said Issa, who was a big supporter of the 2016 Paris Conference on Climate Change (IPCC).

According to the article, a recently released study by scientists in France on global warming and its effect on sea-level rise should be cause for concern here in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

The report on the study quotes the lead author, Matthias Mengel — a scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany — as saying that “the trajectory of emissions in the next few decades will shape our coastlines in the centuries to come”.

The scientists revealed that globally, about 40 billion tonnes of CO2 – the main cause of global warming – are released into the atmosphere every year. The emissions, which they said had held steady for three years, increased by two per cent last year; and based on current trends, the emissions could increase for at least another decade.

The scientific data showed that global temperatures have, on average, already increased by one degree Celsius since the industrial revolution began, bearing in mind that the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement, which was signed by 197 countries, requires a capping of global warming at below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and pursues efforts to hold it at 1.5 degrees Celsius, the newspaper reported.

Citing that the agreement also sets a threshold of “net zero emissions” by the end of the century, it noted, however, “It appears that a number of countries are struggling to hit the Paris Agreement targets, which have been described as modest, despite the fact that renewable energy is getting more affordable.”

It noted that “Brazil, for instance, is having difficulty controlling deforestation, which fuels greenhouse gas emissions, while a number of countries are looking to coal plants to meet electricity demands.

“In the United States, which has indicated that it will pull out of the Paris treaty, the Government has cut its support for clean energy and increased its backing for fossil fuels, under its ‘America first’ policy. The upshot is an expected increase in emissions by 1.8 per cent this year.

“All this will no doubt have an effect on low-lying coastal lands, including here in the Caribbean. In fact, a United Nations report released late 2010 painted an alarming picture of devastation across the Caribbean that will be caused by rising sea levels in years to come and the heavy cost to the region,” the article informed.

It cited the report stating that for just the 15 Caribbean Community member states, the damage and the necessary rebuilding as a result of sea-level rise could climb to US$187 billion by the year 2080.

“The report also suggests that a sea-level rise of one metre, which is now regarded as highly likely by the end of the century, would result in at least US$149 million in tourism resorts damaged or lost”; loss or damage of 21 Caricom airports; and the inundation of land surrounding 35 of the region’s 44 ports.

“There is much more astonishing information in the report which, we hope, is being taken seriously by Caribbean governments which should, by now, have started to implement measures — some of which have been recommended by the World Bank — to help the region resist and adapt to the effects of climate change,” the Observer article stated, noting, “The goals of the Paris Agreement are admirable, but it’s not yet a done deal and we become complacent at our peril.”

According to Wikipedia, “If a planet’s atmosphere contains radiatively active gases (i.e., greenhouse gases) they will radiate energy in all directions. Part of this radiation is directed towards the surface, warming it. The intensity of the downward radiation – that is, the strength of the greenhouse effect – will depend on the atmosphere’s temperature and on the amount of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere contains.”

It said: “The vast majority of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions (i.e., emissions produced by human activities) come from combustion of fossil fuels, principally coal, oil, and natural gas, with comparatively modest additional contributions coming from deforestation, changes in land use, soil erosion, and agriculture.”

It has been estimated, the publication said, that “if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their present rate, Earth’s surface temperature could exceed historical values as early as 2047, with potentially harmful effects on ecosystems, biodiversity and the livelihoods of people worldwide.”

“Recent estimates also suggest that at current emission rates the Earth could pass a threshold of 2 °C global warming, which the United Nations’ IPCC designated as the upper limit to avoid “dangerous” global warming, by 2036,” Wipipedia added.