What is your opinion about climate change?

Climate change is an alarming environmental predicament and dealing with it has been placed high on the agenda for nations. This is a global phenomenon that provokes detrimental changes in weather patterns, usually attributed to human activities. Nowadays, with the dynamic economic growth, climate change is perpetuated and adversely influences both rural and urban areas. This paper will outline the major issues caused by climate change and evaluate several strategies to confront its negative impacts. Notwithstanding the enormous challenges, the drawbacks of this phenomenon can be resolved. The problems caused by climate change are various regardless of rural or urban areas. To begin with, natural disasters and extreme weather events tend to be exacerbated and become more intense and frequent due to a great role played by GHG. The world is witnessing more and more anomalous storms and floods. Meanwhile, many places bear the brunt as droughts and bushfires occur. The 2019-20 Australian bushfire season ended with 19 million hectares razed, 33 people and 1 billion animals killed (WWF, 2020). Additionally, sea level is rising dramatically which leads to salinity intrusion and land subsidence in low-lying areas. For example, the sea level in Mekong River Delta area has risen by 20 centimeters since 1901 (CGIAR Research Centers in Southeast Asia, 2016). Hence, the people’s quality-of-life has deteriorated. It is certain that human health is vulnerable to imbalancing climate conditions and respiratory, skeletal, neurologic morbidity appears to be more complicated. Global warming also shortens the cycles of circulating epidemics, e. g. influenza, cholera. Additionally, new epidemics such as ebola and COVID-19 have imperiled the human race. Lustgarten (2020) claims that climate change is demolishing the natural defence systems, thus, gates for the spread of vector-borne diseases are wide open. Human-driven global heating also worsens pollution dilemas, especially in concrete jungles. Simultaneously, economic performance is hindered by climate change. Natural disasters have degraded the infrastructure of cities, prompted governments to reconstruct them and annihilate the remnants. In the countryside, irregular weather conditions considerably curtail the productivity of agricultural activities, resulting in the scarcity of resources. Basically, climate change affects every aspect of life and vice versa. In response to addressing climate warming, there are three main frameworks: mitigation, adaption and cooperation. Mitigation aims to reduce GHG emissions - the root causes. It is essential to promote the Green Revolution and disseminate advanced technology to treat the industrial waste and utilize innovative resources such as wind, solar energy, tidal power and nuclear power. Unlike limited resources, these are infinitely abundant and easy to find and exploit. Public transport and vehicle efficiency need to be emphasized. Commuting with personal vehicles releases toxic emissions. Therefore, governments must establish accessible and reliable public transport systems, build lanes for cyclists and pedestrians with intent to curtail the need for private vehicles. Conjointly, vehicular efficiency standards and taxes could be considered. In Singapore, a “birth control policy” on vehicles is issued and if a person wants to purchase a new vehicle, he/she has to own a certificate of entitlement (COE), then the import duty is 100% (Koh, cited in UNDP, 2012). Trees are vital as they absorb CO2 and harmonize ecosystems. Deforestation and over nature exploitation need to be strictly prohibited or curbed with severe punishments. Agroforestry projects need to be practised widespreadly to conserve biodiversity and cure habitat loss, soil degradation, extreme heat and other damages. While mitigation activities cannot be immediately accomplished, adaptation measures can be undertaken to cope with the risks associated with climate change. Firstly, building green infrastructure would be prioritized in metropolitan cities. Green roofing is a notable method replacing black asphalt and shingles with vegetation on the rooftops of buildings, consequently cooling the surroundings, lowering energy demand then reducing GHG. The National Research Council of Canada (2005) reported that a green roof could cut air-conditioning use in a building by 75%. Using permeable materials for construction is also a potent way to ease urban temperature and avoid inner-city floods by allowing rainwater to percolate through. In Copenhagen, urban planners have visualized the city in 2050 with convex streets that capture water from torrents, then absorb heat and convert themselves into reservoirs (Braw, 2013). In the suburbs or countryside, schemes to reinforce protective barricades like dykes and water dams are important. Secondly, there would be adaptive changes in rural and peri-urban areas. Farmers should grow more rational crops, drought-resistant crops to ensure sustainable livelihoods. Fertilizers and pesticides must be used less to diminish soil contamination. Besides CO2, CH4 emissions also contribute to global warming and mainly come from breeding industry, so innovative and eco-friendly techniques in animal husbandry are equally necessary. Moreover, most food supplies come from the rural side, but it may be supplemented by urban and peri-urban gardening. Households can be involved in agricultural activities in vacant lands or window boxes. In Hanoi, more than 80% of fresh vegetables are produced in the suburbs and this helps green the cities (UNDP, 2012). Thirdly, it is requisite to enhance regional and international cooperation. With macro management, governments are responsible for heightening awareness of climate change and educating the young generations. Municipal governments should be encouraged to collaborate to share practical ideas and experiences in terms of combating climatic changes. Internationally, countries in the world can show their goodwill towards tackling climate change by integrating into environmental organizations and efficiently complying with the regulations. Pertaining to pledges to curb GHG emissions, nations have committed to the international agreements and treaties, (e. g. The Kyoto Protocol, The Paris Agreement 2015) and these actions show positive signs for humankind’s future. Ultimately, climate change brings problematic challenges to humanity as well as inducing every individual and country to seriously perceive the situation both in urban and rural areas, afterwards making efforts to achieve sustainable development. References: Australian Bushfires - WWF Australia 2020, WWF. viewed 15 April 2021, . Braw, E. 2013, Tackling climate change: Copenhagen's sustainable city design, the Guardian. viewed 15 April 2021, . CGIAR Research Centers in Southeast Asia 2016, The drought and salinity intrusion in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Kien Giang, Vietnam, p. 9. viewed 15 April 2021, . Koh, T. 2012, Asia-Pacific Human Development Report, UNDP, New Delhi, India, p. 130. viewed 15 April 2021, . Lustgarten, A. 2020, How Climate Change Is Contributing to Skyrocketing Rates of Infectious Disease, ProPublica. viewed 15 April 2021, . Liu, K. & Baskaran, B. 2005, Thermal performance of extensive green roofs in cold climates, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, p. 3. UNDP 2012, Asia-Pacific Human Development Report, UNDP, New Delhi, India, p. 126. viewed 15 April 2021, .