Alok Acharja

There is debate over how much the world has benefited so far from the COP (conference of party). Still, world leaders are trying to come together in hopes of saving the planet. Because the world's most worrying cause is climate change. Cop-28 will be held from November 30 to December 12, 2023 in the Middle East country of Dubai. COP is the climate summit of world leaders. 154 countries signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 to combat the harmful effects of human activities on the climate. Since then, the Conference on Climate Change (CCCC).

It is held every year to discuss exactly how to achieve this reduction and to monitor what progress has been made. From the perspective of Bangladesh and other climate-vulnerable countries, one of the achievements of Cop-27 in Egypt was the creation of a 'damage and loss' fund. Before 2015, different countries and scientists emphasized on climate change, but no unanimous decision has been reached yet. There are many reasons behind failure of the decisions. Most of the fuel comes from fossil.

Naturally, everyone in the world is interested in this conference because the most important thing right now is climate change. According to a study, due to climate change, the tendency of drought has increased in the world. Especially in the Northern Hemisphere this trend has increased 20 times. Europe's temperature this year has broken all records of past. In such a situation, this COP-28 conference of the world is really important. Carbon emissions are the main cause of global climate change. And the developed world, including China, is responsible for most of the carbon emissions. Because these countries use more oil and gas. As a result of climate change, every country in the world is suffering more or less.

Children are also among the worse victims. An organization called Kidsrights Foundation says that climate change is one of the threats facing the world now. About 1 billion children are currently at very high risk due to climate change damage. And a new research report of the United Nations says that the world is facing an average temperature increase of 2.8 degrees Celsius in this century due to the lack of progress made by the governments of the world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

It is known that this year's climate conference will try to reach commitment to reduce global warming below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels and maintain it within 1.5 degrees Celsius. In this situation, it is only possible to avoid disaster if the society can be transformed urgently. According to the research report, according to the promise made in the last climate conference, the new efforts to reduce carbon emissions will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in the world by less than 1 percent by 2030. However, scientists say that to limit the increase in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 45 percent.

The main point will be on how far this conference can progress in implementing the Paris Agreement. The Paris climate agreement is the first time the world has united against climate change. Implementation of the decisions is the most vital issue. The Paris Agreement includes the issues of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, helping vulnerable countries and increasing the use of renewable energy. Apart from this, there will also be the issue of financial aid to the climate change affected countries. If the decision of the Paris Climate Agreement supported by 196 countries of the world to financially support countries affected by climate change like Bangladesh, the countries can take effective long-term measures against climate change.

The number of climate refugees within the country may decrease. Because of the excessive industrialization of the developed world, the level of carbon emissions in the world is high. Countries like Bangladesh are more and more affected by the loss of change. Natural disasters are seen like recently cyclone ‘Sitrang’ and others hit one after another. Scenes of changing seasons and nature's rough appearance cause us anxiety. The trend of rising temperatures poses the threat of rising sea levels. Despite the recognition of the responsibility of the world leaders to deal with the adverse effects of climate change, the climate conference is not working to protect the world because of the reluctance to implement the decisions.

The climate change crisis is now the biggest threat to the world. Even it is more vulnerable than war. There is no alternative way to get rid of this except reducing carbon emissions. As a result, the whole world agrees on the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement. Scientists suggest changes in our lifestyle to ensure a sustainable future. They proposed six steps to reduce the harmful effects of climate change. These are, Substituting fossil fuels with renewable low-carbon fuels, especially reducing meat addiction, adopting a plant-based diet, creating a carbon-free economy, and controlling population growth.

We are actually going to run into danger. Although there are ways to prevent it, the problem is not one’s but all. As a result, it is a lengthy process. According to a World Bank study, respiratory, water-borne diseases, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and mental health are also affected due to climate change. However, it is the poorer countries that suffer the most because they are less capable to cope with change. The countries of the world which are increasing the level of carbon emissions should focus on building a sustainable environment.

Threatening the existence of the world just for the sake of development is a great folly not to find a way to get rid of it. Due to climate change, the earth is becoming risky for living. Survival is becoming a threat. The 28th Climate Conference is crucial to getting the climate back to normal and the world will be looking to the world leaders to see what they can do to make the planet habitable. At the COP-28 conference held in Dubai, we want to see the proper implementation of earlier commitments. If they fail again or show uncooperative attitude then the existence of the world will basically go to a more critical. From where it will be much more challenging to come back. In one word, if it fails, the destruction of this planet called Earth is inevitable. Then maybe existence of human beings will appear in the book of extinction.

The writer is a Essayist and columnist