Climate Emergency and the Need for Meaningful Climate Partnerships

Comprehension of the phenomenon of climate change as a crisis forms the subject matter of the present article by Prof. Emmanuella Doussis. The author makes us view this emergency from different perspectives and establishes mere knowing it is not enough. We are already late in commencing the ‘doing’ process.

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Over the last years, the term ‘climate crisis’ has been increasingly used to emphatically describe the severe deterioration of certain phenomena affecting the climate, and to awaken society. Sudden and extreme weather events, which are now occurring more frequently and with greater intensity and duration, alongside droughts, heatwaves, floods, and wildfires, cause massive destruction and impact water resources, agriculture, infrastructure, health, and security, accelerating population displacement and testing the resilience of governments and national economies.

However, a crisis is typically a temporary phenomenon that peaks and then subsides or transitions into something else. Thus, the term ‘climate crisis’ is misleading as it does not include the parameter of duration. Moreover, it gives the impression that a return to normality is possible. But this is now unattainable. The earth’s average temperature has already risen significantly, and harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are still increasing rapidly. We are therefore facing a phenomenon that is causing an emergency, a situation that requires urgent action in two directions—to drastically reduce the causes and to manage the consequences. This is a phenomenon that we will be constantly confronted with and which we must learn how to manage. There are practices that can help in this direction, but the pace of our mobilization is exceedingly slow.