Viewpoint: 2012 –in the eye of a storm

By The NewsDay | Dec. 31, 2012 | 4 Min read

Global warming was the hot news this year, literally breaking out of the ivory tower.

Opinion By Wisdom Mdzungairi

Many of the warnings scientists have made about climate change went from dry studies in scientific journals to real-life video played before our eyes: record melting of the ice in the Arctic Ocean; snow disrupting business all over in South Africa; Spainish and United States cities baking at 95 degrees or hotter; July becoming the hottest month ever in Zimbabwe; widespread drought; flooding; storm surges inundating most countries.

Perhaps the most unavoidable climate story of the year was the warmth that gripped much of our country and, to an extent, the whole world throughout the entire year.

This, inevitably, led to a discussion of global warming and the degree to which it contributes to some types of extreme weather, in this case heat waves.

This triggered a series of high-level global meetings to deal with the global warming phenomena –among them the Rio+ summit and the Doha Climate Change conference which closed the year on a high note. So the Doha climate change conference was the most significant in nearly 20 years of gatherings under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)/COP 18 process aimed at staving off future global warming disaster.

The urgency of the science is indeed upon everybody.

The need for decisive ambition was thrust before politicians, scientists and environmentalists alike at COP 18 to ensure the Doha outcomes could change the face of long-term global adaptation and mitigation responses and chart the course of the coming years.

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Doha was to ensure that there was agreement on an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol; that there was a clear path forward on climate finance; that there was an effective review of the long-term goal of staying below 2°C; that there was an urgent response to the widening emissions gap; and that there was a firm foundation laid for a long-term framework that is applicable to all, equitably instituted and responsive to science.

Since carbon dioxide emission limits agreed to under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol were to expire at the stroke of midnight today, it was critical that COP 18 agreed to extend those obligations and to continue talks about future emission cuts.

However, the outcome fell far short of what will be necessary to keep the world’s average temperature below 2°C in the foreseeable future.

As highly expected under the Doha arrangement, 17 of the 25 biggest carbon-emitting countries (including China, the US, Russia and India) did not commit to any legally binding emission limits.

The countries that did agree to extend and deepen their Kyoto emission reductions, including the European Union, Australia and Eastern Europe, make up only about 15% of the world’s emissions.

That seems like a rather meagre return on the investment of time and effort over the past years. As often is the case, these negotiations over climate have come to symbolise epic David and Goliath struggles pitting poor developing countries against recalcitrant government officials from rich countries. Lobbying efforts, shaming tactics, and staging public demonstrations have been the slingshots of choice.

One result is that more people are paying attention to environmental issues.

Nonetheless, it is time to abandon the myth that a consensus solution is necessarily the best approach. At the best, gatherings like the one in Doha dangle a tantalising mirage of achieving a sustainable future. At the worst, they give cover to governments that would rather avoid the hard choices they ultimately will have to make.

After one more expensive and time-consuming round of talks, it’s time to be honest with what can really be accomplished at these UN-style gatherings.

On another front, poaching was the bane for the wildlife industry as Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa lost huge numbers of animals. While the number of key species poached is not immediately available, South Africa says it was hard hit with at least 633 rhinoceros killed this year alone as a poaching epidemic continued to threaten the animals.

Besides poaching of the rhino, elephants and other big game, Zimbabwe also lost over 100 elephants due to thirst at Hwange National Park.

We began 2012 worrying about drought; elections; we ended it worrying about famine and elections. So reviewing the year environmentally, nothing stands out so much as the topsy-turvy nature of our weather over the past 12 months, which not only caused irritation and real difficulties to people all over the country, but raised larger concerns about global warming.

There is no doubt that the majority of people locally and internationally now realise the importance of the environment. So let us develop a culture to preserve the environment and to mitigate global warming effects in the New Year –2013.

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