10 things that reminded us in 2019 it was time we acted on climate change

Current Affairs
The year 2019 was punctuated by a series of deadly, devastating natural and man-made disasters. Starting with fires ravaging California, the year ended with fires in Australia. Amazon wildfire, cyclones, hurricanes, water crisis and rising pollution bore bad tidings. All the catastrophes pointed to the climate crisis. But 2019 was also the year in which millions of people were galvanised into action. Even as some world leaders like US President Donald Trump dismissed 'climate change' as a conspiracy theory, the year's scorching temperatures and other disasters pushed students, activists, scientists and politicians to act.
Here are 10 events in 2019 that indicated it was high time the world acted against climate change
Australia bushfire, koala About 8,000 koalas have died since the fires started, as the slow-moving animals are unable to escape the flames. Photo: Shutterstock
Australia's ongoing bushfire nightmare

Wildfires have turned southeast Australia into an apocalyptic nightmare and threatens to wipe out forests and species of animals. While bushfires are not new to Australia, the situation this time has been catastrophic because of record-breaking temperatures, extended drought and strong winds. The extreme heat follows the driest spring on record. On September 9, the historic getaway Binna Burra Lodge in Queensland was destroyed in the fire. On November 11, New South Wales issued a “catastrophic” fire danger rating for the first time in the decade. In December, thousands of residents and tourists were forced to evacuate southeastern Australia as bush fires razed scores of buildings....Read More

In 'climate apartheid', rich will save themselves while poor suffer: UN

Company News

The world is on course for “climate apartheid”, where the rich buy their way out of the worst effects of global warming while the poor bear the brunt, a UN human rights report said on Tuesday.
The report, submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by its special rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston, said business was supposed to play a vital role in coping with climate change, but could not be relied on to look after the poor.
“An over-reliance on the private sector could lead to a climate apartheid scenario in which the wealthy pay to escape overheating, hunger, and conflict, while the rest of the world is left to suffer,” he wrote.
He cited vulnerable New Yorkers being stranded without power or healthcare when Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, while “the Goldman Sachs headquarters was protected by tens of thousands of its own sandbags and power from its generator”.
Relying exclusively on the private sector to protect against extreme weather and rising seas “would almost guarantee massive human rights violations, with the wealthy catered to and the poorest left behind”, he wrote.
“Even under the best-case scenario, hundreds of millions will face food insecurity, forced migration, disease, and death.”
His report criticized governments for doing little more than sending officials to conferences to make “sombre speeches”, even though scientists and climate activists have been ringing alarm bells since the 1970s.

 “Thirty years of conventions appear to have done very little. From Toronto to Noordwijk to Rio to Kyoto to Paris, the language has been remarkably similar as States continue to kick the can down the road,” Alston wrote.