What is awaiting us: Condemnation or admiration?

Abdullah Abdel Karim

(An Emirati writer)

“It is a historic opportunity we have to seize. The next generations will either condemn or admire us.”

I was struck by these remarks made by COP26 President Alok Sharma in Glasgow, Scotland, last November amidst growing warnings from the international community over an escalating climate crisis.

Glasgow’s COP26 summit concluded with the goal to cap global temperature at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in order to preserve the earth from the disastrous effects of global warming. 

We need to understand that global temperature rise can still be stopped before it reaches a catastrophic level – that doing or not doing so is a choice that today’s leaders are making for future generations.

We will be blamed or honoured by the coming generations for the choices we make today in relation to the preservation of our natural resources, making the optimal use of all products, recycling waste, and changing consumer behaviours.

During the COP26 summit, world governments pledged to limit total global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit in order to save humanity from the worst effects of heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and flooding.

So, what about the intellectual, behavioral and moral legacy that we should pass down to coming generations? What about the challenges facing values in different sort of intellectual production? How much time do we need to restore our humanity that has been missing for long?

Let’s go back to the Glasgow’s COP26 summit which witnessed the first agreement accepted by all states that will accelerate the global energy transition away from coal. India, China and the US are the world’s three biggest users of coal, the most polluting fossil fuel.

Will governments do enough to put the world on track to limit warming? Will the next generation bear the fruits of their efforts or will they go with the wind?