The November 2011 edition of AEFJN's Forum for Action is now online. It contains articles on the ethical responsibility of the Church on the climate issue, on the clean up of the Ogoniland oil spills, which will take decades, on the spread of Libyan arms in the Sahel, on the production of medicines in Africa and on the EU's attempt to force African countries to sign EPAs.
The national election campaign officially started the 28th October in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), exactly one month ahead of historic presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for November 28 2011. 41 humanitarian and human rights organizations, among them AEFJN, have expressed concern about the high political tension and deteriorating security situation. They have called upon all Congolese and international actors involved to take urgent measures to prevent electoral violence, better protect civilians and ensure credible, free and fair elections.AEFJN sees climate change as a cross-cutting issue with food sovereignty.
AEFJN analyses this issue in a view of economic justice.
Climate Change
The climate is at one and the same time a cause and a result of the disturbance of the ecosystems.
"Climate change" is often used to describe human-specific impacts. But climate change firstly means a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. Many factors may cause climate change: oceanic processes,variations in solar radiation received by Earth, volcanic eruptions etc. But factors also include human-induced alterations of the natural world.
The reports published by climate experts (IPCC) in 2007 and later conclude that effects due to human-induced alterations are currently causing global warming.
Climate change and human activities
The climate has varied for centuries. But human activities have contributed to the trend of global warming by increasing emission of greenhouse gases from energy supply, industry, transport, agriculture and deforestation. The current dominant economic system encourages exchanges of products around the world and some industrial or agricultural processes that contribute to abnormal climate change.
Mankind’s use and management of these natural resources – air, water, land, flora and fauna – has a great influence on the climate and consequently on the well-being of billions of people. According to whether these resources are considered to be for the common good or, in stark contrast, commodities that can be privatised and marketed, and according to whether solidarity and fairness are seen as a foundational or an option, the commitment to reverse climate change will have very different outcomes.
IPCC experts on climate change
World has been alerted to Climate change by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
IPCC is the scientific leading body for the assessment of climate change, established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences.
The IPCC released its Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) on 28 March. The report assesses the evidence that climate change has led to changes in climate extremes and the extent to which policies to avoid prepare for, respond to and recover from the risks of disaster can reduce the impact of such events. IPCC website: www.ipcc.ch