CODE RED
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GO GREEN
The Right Turn:
The Drive toward Climate Action and Awareness
By: Bjorn Del B. Deade & Kenneth Fernando​
PETER DIZKES/MIT NEWS
The clock is ticking.
Climate scientists and experts have set the deadline for governments, businesses, corporations, and regular citizens to adapt, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and do what needs to be done before the damages become irreversible. Take it from Jim Skea, Co-Chair of IPCC:
“It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F);
without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors,
it will be impossible.”
It’s all hands on deck – and we need to act now. Here are four of the many ways we can help fight back.
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1. Support the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change that was adopted by 196 Parties at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP 21, held in Paris. It aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C - 2°C, compared to the pre-industrial levels, as the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). And we citizens, especially the youth, are central to its success. The goals of the agreement cannot be achieved without public engagement and understanding of the treaty.
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2. Keep the political pressure on our leaders and governments.
The government’s interests should focus on creating systems that will stop the capitalist corporations, the rich, and the powerful to benefit while destroying the environment and worsening climate change. They need to hold their end of the bargain in the Paris Climate Agreement. It is our duty as inhabitants of the earth to remind them of their duty to serve us and the home we live in.
3. Participate in Sustainable Development Goal No. 13
We need to do our part in achieving the 17 United Nations Sustainable Goals (SDGs), specifically, the 13th SDG – Climate Action. Here are 13 suggestions from the Global Goals that regular citizens like us can do.
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However, our responsibility does not stop there. We must keep striving to achieve all of the SDGs. Through this, we can not only succeed in climate action, but we can also build a sustainable world for the future generations.
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4. Promote Climate Awareness
It is not enough to just stay updated about the latest news on climate change and its devastating impacts; you should also be active in spreading the word. To climate awareness, we need to keep disseminating factual information about the climate crisis and fact-checking and holding fake news peddlers accountable for their actions. Part of this goal is also to make climate change and awareness everyone's personal advocacy, making sure that you speak out when injustices happen and amplifying the voices of the victims of climate change.
Climate change is here and real. Its causes persist because of the systems deeply embedded in the fabric of society, and the inaction and apathy of governments toward the harmful operations of transnational corporations. Its impacts continue to worsen, as more homes get destroyed, food and water dissipate, people become climate refugees, and if unfortunate, another statistic.
But there is still hope and time. The road to action against climate change is right in front of us. We have a roadmap that can guide leaders to make effective climate policies. We have the vehicles and platforms to promote awareness and alarm the people. We have the fuel that can ignite the flame within us to demand change, action, and climate justice from our leaders
The right turn is around the corner. It’s time for everyone to take the wheel and help drive humanity to their final destination…
…where mother earth is protected – where we are still alive.