Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1021976
27 maltatoday | SSUNDAY • 2 SEPTEMBER 2018 CLIMATE change is a discus- sion which polarises people and creates endless discus- sions about the environment around us. The evidence which shows that our climate is shift- ing is considerable and the fact that we're affecting the environment where we live is also an important factor. We have grown accustomed to luxuries, which today are found throughout. Owning multiple vehicles within the same family is something that progress has allowed us to do, but there is a cost to this. I don't think that, on our own, we will realise that the damage being caused is enough to even disown things like personal cars. We have to have a bigger picture ap- proach to this as otherwise we'll be slow-walking off a cliff. As an island, climate change should concern us even more. It can affect even areas which are not directly linked to the environment, such as tour- ism. Research by biophysicists with the BIOS Research Unit in Finland who were asked by the UN to contribute research for the UN Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR), had some sobering thoughts on climate change and how it relates to the economic models we use. The team argues that to- day's "dominant economic theories" and conceptions of modern capitalism are inadequate because they falsely assume societies will have continued access to cheap energy, like fossil fuels. Also, these theories gener- ally don't factor in sink-costs – meaning costs that can't be recovered – like climate change, and they fail to ac- count for the potential socio- political consequences that could result from continued unchecked consumption and growth. "Because economies are for the first time in human histo- ry shifting to energy sources that are less energy efficient, production of usable energy (exergy) will require more, not less, effort on the part of societies to power both basic and non-basic human activi- ties," the scientists wrote. The paper called for socie- ties to start thinking about new models of governance and economics that relate better to the climate change. "It can be safely said that no widely applicable eco- nomic models have been developed specifically for the upcoming era," they wrote, suggesting that the global economy is approaching a new era. "Our focus is on the transition period, the next few decades." Instilling important princi- ples at a young age is a very important step to countering all this. The sensitivity to en- vironmental issues is increas- ing as time goes on, with more young people growing up in an age where caring for the surroundings is seen as important. Social media is helping this, with important initiatives such as minimis- ing the use of plastic gaining ground online and creating movements across the world. The idea of a movement for a cause can be an important factor. We have seen differ- ent ones growing in the US and Europe, and even in Mal- ta we have social movements with worthy causing growing and expanding thanks to the internet. We must work harder because as a country our environment is a major resource that contributes to our well-being. Change might be difficult, but in the case of climate change it is obliga- tory. Today's "dominant economic theories" and conceptions of modern capitalism are inadequate because they falsely assume societies will have continued access to cheap energ y, like fossil fuels Evarist Bartolo Evarist Bartolo is minister for education and employment Facing the climate change threat The evidence which shows that our climate is shifting is considerable