Being a topic of excessive discussion in recent media, climate change has taken the world by storm ever since its mainstream entry as a major crisis. However, it had very humble beginnings. From being nothing more than a scientist’s delusion to being a valid environmental concern, here are the chronicles of climate change.
It all began in 1896 when a Swedish scientist, Svante Arrhenius first proposed the idea of human caused climate change, suggesting that burning fossil fuels would rocket CO2 levels to such a height, at which it would cause global warming. However, at that time this statement was not taken into major consideration and was overlooked internationally.
Now fast forward to the 1930s and temperatures across the US are steadily increasing, though no one knew why. Once again, it was brushed aside, speculating that it was nothing more than a natural cycle. However, an English engineer named Guy Stewart Callender, begged to differ. He analyzed the climatic patterns and temperatures across the world and came up with the very first model which showed climatic behavior based on several factors, which showed that this change in temperature was a result of the excessive burning of fossil fuels. Nevertheless, his efforts too, went in vain as international organizations turned a deaf ear to his researches. Now, when scientists look back at his estimations, they find it to be surprisingly accurate.
No major studies were conducted on climate change in the following years, up and until 23rd June, 1988, when climate change finally got its big break into the frame. On this day, Dr James Hansen, the NASA director, testified that climate change was indeed a real concern and stated with high certainty that it was due to human-made causes. This brought climate change to the main stage where it was to garner much attention in the coming years. This testimony also led to the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by the United Nations in the same year.
The next major landmark in the story of climate change was the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. This was the first major international conference in which climate change was the major topic. This conference also led to the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). After this agreement, the world saw the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the Montreal Protocol etc.
Apart from intergovernmental efforts, the world saw many individual efforts in the form of environmentalists like Greta Thunberg and Al Gore. Al Gore’s book, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ was a bestseller on the topic of climate change. This atter also received mainstream attention from celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Elon Musk. Musk’s Tesla gigafactory in Nevada is run on 100% renewable energy.
Many brands such as HP, Apple, Microsoft and Nike have taken active steps to combat this issue.
In conclusion, though many major efforts have been made to fight climate change, it still remains as a major environmental issue in today’s world. We must also individually take steps against climate before its too late. At the end of the day, we only have one earth.
 | Aibel Praveen, 9-G, FAIPS - DPS |