African governments have a responsibility to quickly rise to the challenge being imposed on the world by climate change (global warming) and adopt measures that can at best, mitigate its devastating impacts on their citizens, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said.
Four African countries- Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbawe and Madagascar are still in rude shock and battling to recover from large scale damage visited on them after a landfall Cyclone Idai bared its monstrous fangs in different parts of these countries, leaving hundreds dead and thousands others in near hopeless conditions.
Climate change refers to the environmental phenomenon through which the solar energy, which is responsible for heating the planet, is prevented from being reflected back into space because of the presence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is believed to be largely caused by human activities including emissions into the atmosphere, deforestation among others. The resultant effect is that the planet grows hotter and hotter, leading to a host of other environmental changes, such as killer heat waves, wildfires, droughts and flooding.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of America, the global temperature has risen by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, with most of the warming taking place during the last 35 years. An assessment by the International Energy Agency also showed that unless mitigating actions are continually taken, global emissions will rise 130 percent by 2050.
The NLC in a solidarity message to the workers and people of the affected African countries stated, stated that was high time African governments came to term with the realities of global warming and put measures in place to mitigate its impact.
According to the labour centre, the cyclone affords Africa a moment of quiet reflection, as it is become clearer no part of the world may be entirely saved from the impact of climate change.
“As devastating and painful as Cyclone Idai is, it affords all of us a moment of quiet reflection. Climate change is real! We can only mitigate and adapt to its realities.
We call on all governments in Africa and beyond to be alive to the challenge posed by climate change especially with regards to making provisions for climatic early warning systems and robust architecture of rescue initiatives cum resources to deal with disasters of this nature,” the labour union said on Monday.
JOSHUA BASSEY
