On February 28th, 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its most dire warning yet to humanity. The most alarming fact is that over 3 billion people worldwide or 40% of the world’s population will suffer dire consequences in the upcoming decades as climate change is outpacing our ability to adapt to its consequences. This is a call for all of us, citizens of the Earth, to demand change or remove our governing bodies who refuse to ACTUALLY do something for the safety of our future.
Milestones such as improvement of global health and declining poverty may be a thing of the past as many in the Global South don’t have the resources to leave their homes. Additionally, Africa has contributed to 3% of global carbon emissions yet they are the ones affected the most by them through famine, droughts, and floods. The Western World must do something to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
I am scared. I’m afraid of seeing the beautiful world around me start to deteriorate rapidly decline before I get the chance to experience it. Afraid of seeing the beautiful city of Venice be swallowed by rising sea levels or becoming a climate refugee as my home state of Texas be ravaged by wildfires like California. Afraid of saying goodbye to beautiful islands in the Pacific such as Bora Bora or Fiji before I get to experience them. Last but not least, I am afraid of the state of the world in the next decades.
“Will the world I live in when I am older be worse? How long do I have until I see my house being burned through the ground by a wildfire? Will I die of a heatwave or malnutrition?,” are some of the questions I ask myself daily.
Thankfully, there’s still time to reverse some of the effects of climate change. This is a fight worth fighting for. We must not give up until our futures are saved.