The fight against global climate change

Manifestations of climate change, the impact of El Nino and La Nina make 2024 a year that records many sad natural disasters, sounding the alarm bell about the environment on a global scale.

Delegates at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Source: Reuters)

Impact of La Nina, El Nino

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the cause of abnormal weather is El Nino and La Nina. El Nino is the phenomenon of abnormal warming of the surface layer of sea water in the equatorial region and the Eastern Pacific Ocean , lasting 8-12 months and usually appearing every 3-4 years. La Nina is the opposite of El Nino, which is the surface layer of sea water in the above mentioned region is abnormally cold, occurring with a similar or less frequent cycle than El Nino. The transition between these two weather patterns always causes weather disasters such as forest fires, tropical storms and prolonged droughts.

This El Niño cycle began in June 2023, peaked in December 2023 and is currently continuing to cause record heat in many areas of the world . The current phase is one of the five strongest El Niños recorded by the WMO, behind only the “super El Niños” of 1982-1983, 1997-1998 and 2015-2016. El Niño is causing particularly high temperatures in 2023, which is set to be the hottest year since 1850, when temperature records began, surpassing the record set in 2016 by 0.16°C.

Climate change has caused global average surface temperatures to exceed pre-industrial levels by 1.45°C, while the Paris Agreement on climate change aims to limit warming to below 1.5°C. El Nino and La Nina weather patterns – which bring heatwaves, cold spells, heavy rains or droughts – are predicted to become more frequent and severe in the coming years.

Sad records

Since the end of August 2024, Asia has witnessed two consecutive super typhoons with terrible destructive power. That is typhoon Shanshan - one of the strongest typhoons to hit Japan since 1960 - with winds of up to 252 km/h on August 29. Next is typhoon Yagi, which made landfall in the Philippines, China, Vietnam... from September 2, with the strongest wind speed of 260 km/h, causing heavy rain, landslides and floods, killing hundreds of people in China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand...

While the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi was being cleared, Typhoon Bebinca approached the Amami Islands in southwestern Japan on September 14, causing heavy rain, strong winds and high tides. After sweeping across Japan, Typhoon Bebinca raged in the Philippines on September 15 and then made landfall in Shanghai, China, on the morning of September 16. This was also the strongest tropical storm to hit Shanghai in more than seven decades.

In the Americas, Tropical Storm Ileana formed in the Pacific Ocean and made landfall in the western Mexican city of Los Cabos on September 12. Ileana swept through the state of Baja California Sur on September 13, bringing torrential rains that caused severe flooding in the area.

Previously, Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana, USA on September 11, with winds of over 160 km/h causing flash floods and power outages affecting hundreds of thousands of people. In just one day, Louisiana suffered a month's worth of rain.

Last week, storm Boris, accompanied by prolonged heavy rain, caused the worst flooding in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe in the past three decades, causing great loss of life and property in Romania, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy...

Strong action needed

Experts say climate change has caused sea temperatures to rise to near-record levels (1.5 degrees Celsius), making this year's storm season more active than usual. This is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century because climate change is directly affecting the ecosystem, environmental resources and human life on Earth.

Statistics show that in the past 30 years, the number of strong storms has nearly doubled. It is the high temperatures in the ocean and in the atmosphere that give more power to storms, pushing storm speeds to terrifying levels and making them more frequent. According to a study published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science and the journal Nature on July 31, storms in Southeast Asia are forming closer to the coast, intensifying faster and lasting longer over land due to climate change. The results of the study by researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, Rowan University and the University of Pennsylvania in the US, are based on an analysis of more than 64,000 historical and future storms modeled from the 19th century to the end of the 21st century.

The group of researchers explained that climate change is changing the paths of tropical storms in Southeast Asia. Dr. Andra Garner (Rowan University) said that densely populated areas along the Southeast Asian coast are the "hotspots" that are most severely affected, especially as storms become more devastating and the population continues to increase. Therefore, according to Dr. Andra Garner, there are two things that need to be done immediately before it is too late. First, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the impact of future storms. Second, strengthen coastal protection against the increasingly severe impacts of storms. In addition to facing storms and increased rain and floods, extreme heat is also one of the major challenges facing the world in the fight against climate change. In recent summer months, many places around the world have witnessed record high temperatures, both air and ocean temperatures are at all-time highs.

Focus on forums

Environmental issues are becoming the main topic at global climate summits. In addition to measures to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius as required by the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, experts point out that the goal of responding to climate change can only become a reality when financial resources for combating climate change are fully supported. To solve the "problem" of climate finance, the United Nations has published a draft on climate finance to be discussed at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), taking place in Azerbaijan this November. This document aims to replace the commitment of developed countries to contribute 100 billion USD/year to help developing countries respond to climate change with a higher level of funding.

According to the Arab bloc, developed countries should commit at least 441 billion USD per year in grants during the 2025-2029 period to mobilize loans and private finance, thereby raising the total annual support amount to 1,100 billion USD. Meanwhile, African countries expect the annual target figure to be 1,300 billion USD. However, in reality, the world still lacks substantial, drastic actions to realize the proposed climate visions. According to statistics, to date, developed countries have pledged to contribute about 661 million USD to the Loss and Damage Fund, which was officially launched at COP28 in the UAE (December 2023). However, the current committed amount is nothing compared to the more than 100 billion USD/year that experts say developing countries need each year to compensate for losses caused by climate change.

Currently, the US, the European Union (EU), the UK, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand and Australia argue that they are only responsible for nearly 30% of emissions. These countries want to add China and the Gulf countries to the list of donors. It is not difficult to understand why rich countries are not ready to "open their wallets" to help developing countries adapt to climate change, when a series of other intertwined challenges such as the uncertain global economic outlook, conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the threat of epidemics... are creating a financial burden for rich countries. Developed countries, including the US, have made it clear that climate finance contributions must be based on a voluntary basis and called on emerging economies such as China and Saudi Arabia to contribute more.

In the context of increasingly fierce and frequent natural disasters, the topic of combating climate change was emphasized at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly and at the recently held Future Summit. Climate change and this fierce battle will continue to be the focus of COP29 in November in Baku, Azerbaijan. However, how governments “commit to and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Goals” as a theme of the Future Summit and how they “open their wallets” is considered a major test of cooperation and will to step up the fight against climate change – a battle that no single country can effectively carry out on its own.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/cuoc-chien-chong-bien-doi-khi-hau-toan-cau-287862.html