Desmond Tutu

Climate change is the biggest threat facing humanity at the start of the 21st century. We are already seeing its impacts – from melting Arctic sea ice to flooding and droughts. And it is often vulnerable communities from developing countries such as South Africa that are affected the most. 90% of natural disasters happen in the global south and only 3% of the people are insured, compared to the global north where only 10% of the disasters happen, but 95% of the people are insured.

OUR DISCONNECTION FROM NATURE

We, as humanity, face a conundrum. Very few among us wilfully advocate the extinction of species or the suffering of our fellow humans. Yet we face rampant environmental destruction that is imposing hardship upon millions of those who cannot escape it. 

If so many of us care about nature, why is our impact on the Earth accelerating? Why is there such disparity in living standards? Why do some have so much and others so little? 

We have developed a temporal and physical disconnection from the resources that sustain us, and from our impact on them. Our forefathers had a direct, visceral connection to nature. Meat had to be caught, and killed, carried, then skinned, a taxing business. Fruit and vegetables had to be sought out growing in the wild or carefully tended. That effort caused our ancestors to waste very little. Modern life has removed that connection and the realisation of our impact on the earth. Supermarkets and packaged foods hide the processes involved in feeding us. In short, the consequences of our actions are delayed or hidden, so we assume they are waived. 

WE HAVE TO ACT INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLECTIVELY

So how does humanity reduce the sting to come? We simply have to act individually and collectively to reduce our impact on the world. There’s no shortage of information on how to do that. It just needs to be done by enough people. And acting on it must be impressed upon the government leaders who will meet in Copenhagen later this year to devise the next generation of guidelines on limiting carbon emissions and fighting climate change. 

It is heartening to see that organisations such as Care International and its partners are spearheading the cause of the poor and taking a leading role to improve the livelihoods of the poor through various programmes and projects throughout the world. It is important to note that poverty is a cause and an effect of environmental degradation. The equitable, efficient and productive use of natural resources offers important opportunities for sustainable livelihoods which can contribute to reducing poverty.