Critical need to act on planetary crises

Itis a sad reality of the times that most of the nations, including India, have missed the UN deadline of February 10, 2025 to submit their new national climate pledges. Only 13 out of the 195 Parties (member-countries) to the Paris Climate Agreement have submitted their new emissions-cutting plans, known as ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs).

This is in stark contrast to the summit in Paris 2015 - almost every nation adopted the landmark Paris Agreement on keeping temperatures “well-below” 2C above pre-industrial levels, with an ambition of keeping them at 1.5C, by the end of the century.

NDCs are not legally binding, but crucial in global efforts to combat the rapid deterioration of climate. Submitted once in five years, NDCs reflect how much each country has committed to cut back on fossil fuel production and usage in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and adapt to climate impacts. This encourages other members to take their NDCs seriously and strive for continuous climate improvement.

The Conference of Parties-30 (COP30) scheduled to be held in Brazil in November is a crucial moment for the nations to take stock of their pledges and discuss the way forward on reducing greenhouse gases, adapting to climate change, and preserving forests and biodiversity. Now, it is being hoped that the Parties would double down on their efforts to pledge national commitments in time for the COP30 organisers to make necessary plans for the summit amid critical concerns about extreme weather events the world over.

It is shocking that some people, especially heads of governments, are still in climate denial even as the world is suffering the dire consequences of wreaking havoc on the environment. Rising temperatures, record-breaking rainfalls, and extreme flooding, raging wildfires, glacial bursts, ice loss, degradation of forests and pollution of ground, water and air etc., are increasingly occurring year by year.

The climate crisis is escalating rapidly. The past few years, including 2025, have been among the warmest years in recorded human history. Lately, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Manitoba, Canada, has warned that the Arctic is warming at four times the rate of the rest of the planet. Arctic will become ice-free during summer if temperatures reach 2.7 degrees Celsius beyond pre-industrial levels. Island nations such as Maldives, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Fizi are already losing significant chunks of land due to the rising sea levels. Our neighbour Bangladesh faces a grave threat to its low-lying coastal areas from sea-level rise and storm surges.

Governments, such as the US under Donald Trump, cannot act blind to healthy ecosystems losing green cover, going up in flames or turning arid and barren. They have to set about earnestly protecting forests, wetlands, and other natural habitats, as well as restoring degraded areas, anything that can help mitigate climate deterioration. It is time for a quantum leap by nations by waking up to the climatic tragedies taking a heavy toll on human and animal world.

Mankind has the power to heal the planet, or wipe out itself from the surface of our planet. Only it has to become more aware of its power and the responsibility. Not only civil societies, even scientists must step up and speak up as science is under threat from climate denials of those in power. They must unite and educate people on the extreme impacts of ignoring grave threats of fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions. Campaigns to ramp up stress on politicos, and community engagement can force, as well as help, governments make environmentally conscious choices and take actions.