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Climate change is to a greater extent caused by anthropogenic factors that is to say they have to do with human activities. Humans contribute to this through the emission of greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour, hydrofluorocarbon, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. According to climate change experts, the greenhouse gases prevent the sun’s energy from radiating back into the space after it reaches the surface of the earth; hence this phenomenon has been labelled “greenhouse effect”.
These heat-trapping gases result from the burning of fossil fuels, clearing of land for agricultural purposes, cutting down of trees (deforestation) and dumping of waste by individuals. Therefore, it has also been argued that climate change causes more frequent occurrences of drought and flooding among other natural catastrophes.
Due to the realisation of the threat posed by greenhouse gases in worsening the dangerous climatic conditions, countries all over the world adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in 1992. The main objective of this convention was to stabilise the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere.
In 1997, the UNFCC convention was complemented by the Kyoto Protocol signed in Japan, where industrialised countries and Europe were obligated to reduce their emissions by an average of five percent by this year. Although a huge chunk of these greenhouse gases are emitted by industrialised countries of the West and East, people from the developing countries should also be conscientised about the causes of climate change and the threat it poses to their lives.
Since humans are in the forefront of emitting greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change, there is a chance of changing people’s behaviour but for a behaviour change to be realised, people need to be fully aware of the root causes and effects of climate change. The knowledge of climate change and the whole issue of greenhouse effect are quite scarce among people even within the educated folks.
Last month I attended a media workshop on climate change organised by Environment Africa. It was so pathetic to see how ignorant journalists were on the subject of climate change. I personally was also not aware of the causes of climate change and the whole issue of the greenhouse effect. Hence I think more has to be done in conscientising ordinary people about climate change.
It is the duty of organisations in Zimbabwe such as Environment Africa and Environmental Management Agency (EMA) among others to embark on a massive campaign aimed at educating citizens about the causes of climate change and its effects. This will help in shedding more light on what activities people should avoid as a way of countering the negative effects of climate change.
Carbon dioxide is one of the chief greenhouse gases that are emitted to the atmosphere due to human activities. As people burn fossil fuels to produce energy or when they clear natural ecosystems, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere where it acts as a greenhouse gas. Experts have also argued that carbon dioxide released this way can remain in the atmosphere for many decades and thus pose a negative effect on climate change.
There are some people who cannot decipher the relationship between cutting down trees willy-nilly vis-à-vis climate change. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the responsible organisations and the media in general to fully educate people about these issues. We should not take this issue for granted because many people in urban centres and rural areas are in utter ignorance when it comes to the subject of climate change and its causes.
Government as one of the important stakeholders in the fight to curb climate change should make the citizens responsible for their actions in relation to the natural environment. Trees use carbon dioxide and release oxygen during the process of photosynthesis. Therefore, the cutting down of trees (deforestation) results in the emission of more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and on the contrary, so is aforestation. Aforestation involves the re-planting of tree cover where it has been removed. This will in turn destabilize the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as it will be absorbed by trees. Thus more efforts should be exerted in clearly explaining to citizens the importance of preserving the natural environment within the context of climate change.
The turn of the new millennium in Zimbabwe saw the widespread devastating catastrophes to the natural environment due to climate change. Memories of Cyclone Eline and Cyclone Japhet are still fresh especially to people in the southern regions of Zimbabwe. The nation’s agricultural produce has, in the past years, dwindled to unprecedented levels due to this monster of climate change.
In the winter season of this year, farmers of Umguza area experienced frost that destroyed most of their crops. I cannot mention the recent appalling rainfall patterns in some parts of the country due to climate change.
In this regard, experts in climate change and other non-government organisations concerned should go an extra mile in educating the populace about the reality of climate change, especially farmers in the remote areas.
Environmentalists state that the concentration of methane (one of the greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere is also caused by cattle production and the cultivation of rice. Do farmers and people in general know about this? It is high time people are made aware of activities that trigger dangerous climatic changes.
The problems of climate change demand the greatest collective effort and cooperation not only between countries but also within them. To address the root causes of climate change, information is essential so as to strike a responsive chord; the chord of behaviour that will make communities preserve and cherish their natural environment within the context of fighting climate change.
One big step towards that should involve a widespread awareness campaign of climate change among citizens — awareness on its causes, effects and the corrective measures that can be adopted byevery individual. The media has to also cooperate fully in ensuring that this campaign is carried out successfully.
l Emmanuel Ndlovu can be contacted in this email: [email protected].
Online Reporter