The Water Wars Are Coming: Civilization Will Never Survive Climate Calamity

Delegations Assemble – 21stConference of the Parties – COP-21

Delegations from around 200 countries assembled in Paris, towards the end of November for what seemed as the most important climate meeting that had ever been held. It is known officially as the 21st Conference of the Parties – COP-21, of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris summit have their aim on the adoption of measures which would limit the issue of global warming to less than disastrous levels.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a 1992 treaty which designated the phenomenon as a threat to the planetary health as well as survival of humans. There is a possibility that if it tends to fail, the world temperature in the forthcoming decades would exceed 2 degrees Celsius, which is the maximum amount most of the scientist believe the Earth could endure without experiencing irreversible climate shocks, inclusive of soaring temperatures as well as substantial increase in global sea levels.

Failure to plug carbon emissions warranties another result though one that is less discussed. Eventually it will not only bring about climate shocks but also worldwide instability, insurgency together with warfare.

Latest Scientific Findings – Impacts of Global warming

In this regard, the COP-21 needs to be considered not just as a climate summit but a peace conference, probably peace convocation in history. It needs to comprehend the latest scientific findings on the probable impacts of global warming particularly the 2014 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC.

When the report was first published it drew worldwide media coverage in predicting that unchecked climate change would cause severe drought, oppressive heat waves, intense storms, recurring crop failures together with coastal flooding which would result in widespread death and scarcity. The recent event comprising the drought in California and crippling heat waves in Asia and Europe have drawn more attention on these impacts.

However, the IPCC report recommended that the global warming could result in devastating impacts of political as well as social nature, inclusive of state collapse, civil strife, economic decline, mass migrations and probably resource wars. These predictions have not been taken into consideration and the possibility of such a future can be apparent since human institutions such as natural systems seem to be susceptible to climate change. Economies could be affected when vital commodities like crops, fish, timber and livestock would tend to become scarce, are destroyed or fail.

Climate Changes – Damage/Destroy Natural Systems

Societies will be gripped under the strain of economic decline and huge refugee flows. IPCC notes that armed conflicts would not be the immediate consequence of these changes but with the combination of the effects of climate change with the prevailing poverty, resource scarcity, hunger, incompetent as well as corrupt governance, together with ethnic, religious or national resentments, one would probably end up with intense conflict with regards to access to food, water and the other essentials of life. Climate changes would damage or destroy several natural systems those under that are under stress which the human depend for their survival.

Under the burden of rising temperature as well as gradually severe droughts, the southern border of the Sahara desert for instance is now being converted into an empty wasteland from grasslands capable of sustaining nomadic herders, compelling local nomads away from their ancestral lands. Several of the prevailing farmlands in Asia, Africa and the Middle East would be suffering the same fate. Rivers which once provided water all through the year would run only occasionally or dry up, leaving the populations with unpleasant options.