In an encyclical letter issued last year, to “every person living on this planet”, Pope Francis spoke of the urgent challenge to protect our common home. “Faced as we are with global environmental deterioration,” reads the encyclical Laudato Si’, “I urgently appeal for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet.”

In collaboration with Nature Trust, the Malta Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies Association organised a forum last month to promote discussion on the outcome and implications of the 2015 Paris climate change conference.

Opening the forum, MEEREA president Edward Scerri said the challenge of climate change is best addressed by sustainable development as the issue was linked to a broad array of development concerns, in which energy issues played a crucial part.

Not only is nature in crisis but society is too. Former university chaplain Fr Jimmy Bartolo SJ spoke of how unresolved environmental issues in many parts of the world have led to a drop in the quality of life, suffering of poor people and the very breakdown of society.

While many are still living without limits and ignoring the consequences – extreme, impulsive consumerism driven by convenience in a throwaway culture – the world calls for a new vision.

The Jesuits in Malta have spoken out against the loss of Outside Development Zone land (Rabat golf course, Żonqor development), which also has a bearing on our ability to cope with climate change.

For Jesuits, the question is no longer whether Catholics should address issues of ecology in a faith perspective. The real question facing all societies, including Christian communities, is how this can be done. The Pope’s encyclical was followed by an Islamic declaration on global climate change and statements by other world religions in the run-up to the Paris climate change conference last December.

As Malta’s ambassador for climate change to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Prof. Simone Borg, who has represented our country at a series of UN negotiations, defined the climate crisis as essentially a moral crisis: “This is a clear case for people of faith to examine the causes of climate change and take action. A fairer, safer, cleaner world can be built on renewable energy.”

Hopes may run high but was the general excitement over the Paris climate talks really justified? Prof. Borg comments positively on the importance of the agreement reached at the 2015 Convention of Parties meeting (COP21) in Paris:

“We haven’t seen such co-operation on an international level for a very long time. It was a milestone… like the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and Stockholm (the first UN conference to focus on international environmental issues in 1972). Neither solved the world’s ailments but they changed things for the better. The Paris talks established that the world is now moving toward a low-carbon economy.

“Changes in climate are also part of a natural process but science is very clearly showing us that human intervention is accelerating change. The main message to come out of Paris was that the age of fossil fuels is over.”

Prof. Borg threw a light on the often tense negotiations, compromises and successes of the COP21 sessions, which emerged as an international agreement that ticked all the boxes. The agreement has been hailed as “robust, ambitious and commensurate with scientific knowledge”.

An international panel of climate scientists has long argued for a cap of 2°C, which if achieved would be “disastrous but survivable”. Setting this target, already seen as rather low, was what made it possible for the different factions to work together. In the meantime, the global climate situation has wobbled a step closer toward accelerated warming. With this in mind, a further understanding was secured in Paris to drive efforts to limit warming to not more than 1.5°C.

It was the Alliance of Small Island States that was most determined to push through the extra half-a-degree concern as every centimetre of sea level rise due to climate change meant that they could suffer very abrupt loss of territory. It was as if their very existence depended on reaching an agreement to go further toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A previous mechanism established in Warsaw (COP19 in 2013) for loss and damage associated with climate change impacts was also formalised in Paris. This is to be further developed, giving countries suffering as a result of climate change some financial assistance.

In Malta’s case, adaptation is a huge issue: “The impact of climate change on Malta is much bigger than the emissions we contribute. Though our emissions are not in­significant we are more a victim than responsible for climate change.”

Through an enhanced transparency framework all countries will now be required to report on their emissions and track progress on how exactly they aim to reach the ultimate goal of a 1.5°C ceiling in the coming years. Development of a framework for this is currently under way in preparation for the next meeting.

Each nationally determined contribution (or NDC, which the Paris agreement has given countries the liberty of deciding for themselves) must become a real commitment to reducing emissions rather than simply remaining a wish list.

These individual national targets are a good first step but will need to be strengthened and revised while more work on financial commitments is required. All states have to carry out a review on their progress every five years. This stocktaking is aimed at concentrating political attention on how much more remains to be done as we are “still very far away” from the 1.5°C target.

Momentum must not be allowed to fall off. It is important to keep the Paris agenda alive.

“We have been thrown a lifebuoy… it is up to us what we make of it. There is no other way about it – by the next century the planet has to become emissions-neutral. We hope future generations will look back at us with some gratitude,” said Prof. Borg.

While Malta is expected to reach its renewable energy targets, more work is needed to reduce emissions from transport, agriculture and waste, while the area of most concern is industrial processes. A stronger approach to tackling greenhouse gases from heating and cooling is needed.

Malta-based economist and journalist Vanya Walker Leigh, who has followed the UN climate talks as they evolved over the years and was present at a number of events held in Paris by a coalition of non-governmental organisations, gave an overview:

“The Mediterranean has been a climate change hotspot for a long time but not much has been done.”

Now more will have to be done faster as the region is expected to be the hardest hit in Europe, and sixth hardest hit in the world. Among issues affecting the Mediterranean are health risks of tropical diseases as climate conditions change and added pressure on scarce resources such as water. Holiday resorts on coasts may need to start thinking about building structures to protect them from sea surges or laying contingency plans for evacuation.

A coalition of 950 organisations in 110 countries – the Climate Action Network – is urging world leaders to ratify the Paris agreement in New York next month. It must be signed by at least 55 leaders to become active. The initiative is intended to keep heads of government accountable for their actions.

A 2020 target for European countries was set in 2014. Yet in the light of recent data, scientists are now insisting that major cuts are needed before the end of this decade. On the other hand, tinkering with the climate by means of geo-engineering is considered to be very dangerous.

Divestment has taken a healthy swipe at climate change with institutions pulling their investments out of fossil fuels.

There are many small changes people can make in their lives to build a sustainable lifestyle. Finding alternatives to private car use whenever possible, turning off lights and appliances when not needed and cutting down on waste can all help to make a difference.

www.gofossilfree.org

http://fore.yale.edu/climate-change/statements-from-world-religions

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