Yesterday was June 5th, one of the most important days which are meant to be celebrated every year. Here, celebration does not mean making big pomp and shows, using fireworks, colors, music or cakes. It needs to be calm and silent because it is World Environment Day. A day which we might not even remember alike our birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, New Year or every other festival or day which we would be excited to celebrate. We often fail to understand the importance associated with World Environment Day, it being one of the most significant days.
World Environment Day (also called as WED) has been an annual event on the 5th of June every year since 1973 in order to raise the global awareness about the importance of the healthy and green environment in the human lives, to solve the environmental issues.
When talking about environment, it includes every aspect of the environment like earth, water reservoirs, forest, etc. All these factors play a vital role in sustenance of the environment and shaping the climate and weather conditions. Massive destruction of forests, increase in pollution and other destructive measures adopted by human beings has greatly contributed in an increase in global warming. This has resulted in an extreme upsurge of temperature, typically hotness across the globe.
When talking about the measures taken to reduce the adverse effects of pollution and global warming, one of the notable measures includes the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Paris agreement is a step toward the reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions that is necessary in order to reduce the most catastrophic risks of climate change. It’s a deal signed by 195 countries committing them to lower their carbon emission levels. The goal is to lower global emissions enough to prevent average global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. This agreement was finalized in 2015 when Obama was in power.
As per the latest news, the ruling President Trump wants United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. According to reports, the United States will begin a four-year process of withdrawing from the agreement, with the final date for withdrawal set for 2020.
This withdrawal could cause severe impacts such as:
• More Carbon Emissions: The obvious impact would be a rise in carbon emissions. As per the study conducted by University of California Berkley, U.S. emits about 20 percent of global carbon emissions.
• Upsurge in Temperature: The increase in carbon emissions would obviously lead to an increase in the temperature. This could also lead to melting of ice in the polar regions resulting in an increased sea level and an adverse weather condition.
• Weakening of the deal: Withdrawal of U.S. could lead to weakening of the deal. This could also result in withdrawal of other countries from the deal raising an alarming situation due to the increase in carbon emissions.
This pact does not legally bind countries. But the issue being a global one, every country should be a part of the agreement to do their bit for curbing of harmful gaseous emissions. On an individual level, we should plant more trees, try to reduce pollution (air, water, land, noise) and try to do every possible bit to protect and sustain the environment for our future generations.
