Posted by By Rosanne White
The biggest battle of the last few weeks seems to be the war of words between climate campaigners and climate change sceptics. For every article detailing the estimated effects of extreme climate change, there is another denouncing the issue as conspiracy.
At a time when a fair and safe deal on climate change is of paramount importance, I believe that it is crucial for everyone to be aware of the gravity of the Copenhagen negotiations and their outcome, which will ultimately affect us all.
In the run-up to the Copenhagen 3’s departure to Denmark, I’ve been speaking to lots of people about our trip and the reasons behind it. I really want as many people as possible to be aware of the effect that climate change is already having on millions of people around the world and why it is so important that we get a fair, safe and ambitious deal out of Copenhagen.
The same question has continued to crop up on many occasions: why does someone from the West Country want to travel all the way to Copenhagen to campaign on climate change?
The big global issue that concerns me the most is making poverty history. While at first sight, this doesn’t seem to have much of a connection with climate change, the two are inextricably linked, the impact of climate change being one of the biggest obstacles in the battle against poverty.
Next year, the world’s leaders face yet more talks as part of the UN High Level progress review meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), targets which many nations are struggling to achieve and will only become harder to attain as the impact of climate change increases. Goals such as cutting maternal and child mortality rates and achieving universal primary education will become infinitely more difficult to achieve with the onset of global climate change.
It is worth noting that global sustainability is included within the eight MDGs, complete with targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. However, as the effect of climate change becomes ever more destructive, it will determine the extent to which the other goals can be achieved. This is already evident in regions such as East Africa, where 23million people are at risk in one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises.
Climate change is already threatening food security and causing a significant increase in the number of displaced people around the world, while the steady depletion of natural resources is likely to cause a decrease in economic activity in many regions. In short, climate change will make poverty permanent; and that’s why I’m going to Copenhagen.
But make no mistake, climate change will also affect us all here in the South West as well as the rest of the UK. The coastline in the South West is under threat from rising sea levels, with some sources estimating a rise of 80cm by 2080, while extreme weather conditions such as those that caused so much havoc recently in Cumbria could rapidly become the norm.
Now, more than ever, it is of the utmost importance that we all engage with the climate change debate and sift the facts from the sensational headlines. Climate change is already costing lives; it’s up to all of us to make sure that the deal made at Copenhagen is one that is fair and safe for everyone.
Rosanne is a volunteer for Oxfam and will be travelling to Copenhagen next weekend to make her voice heard where it matters most. She will be blogging for Bristol24-7 each day in the run-up to her trip and during her stay in the Danish capital.
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