Polin Kumar Saha :
Climate action is ongoing to be accomplished under the agreement on global climate change. The planned design for reducing climate change impacts goes for our further movement from individual level to multilateral level with the aim to reduce the global warming. Over 20 years of UN dialogues, various conferences have been settled down over the years while this time, most of the countries are going to work forcefully for the first time toward accomplishment of a legal binding and universal agreement on climate. In the implementation of these agreements, climate activists think that the legal bindings always, do not work on climate action of individual lifestyle to achieve sustainability. In traditional climate actions we can forward our daily movement in the sustainable manner, so that we will be able to reduce our daily consumption of resources. Such habit in our daily life is so called climate adapted lifestyle leading to reach the SDG goals as well as gets a reduction of global temperature.
The world’s attraction is now apparently executed to the discussion topics of the COP21 (climate conference), held in Paris, because this conference is assumed as the most important talks of world leaders immediately after UN general assembly meeting. The significance of this Paris conference is enormously highlighted to us since the international thinkers think that the Paris conference has huge impacts on our future survival after the agreement of the Kyoto protocol.
Incorporating sustainability into the climate change issue is very much interrelated and multidimensional and that is why, each of all citizens across different nations is equally responsible to contribute in reducing global temperature. Although the key agenda of COP21 is aiming to attain an international climate agreement among different stakeholders from government and non-governmental sectors, but the process is also performed to remind all levels of citizens of how everyone can be prepared to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas in our day-to-day lives. Why the changing our daily lives is so important- just we can give an example in favoring of its significance- each French citizen typically releases of 7.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent every year! Even, Bangladesh citizen still releases less than French citizen, but we should be aware of this from now.
Therefore, if we all start to revise our lives now, we can be significant contributory agents in reducing global emissions and also help our own governments to reach the SDGs.
Sustainability is about creating the future where we don’t want to undermine the capacity of our forthcoming generations. So, to make sustainable future, the choices of individuals can start at home, that act as a part of our larger community where the process may modify our news headlines every day like stories about climate change, pollution, water scarcity, food contamination, housing shortages, and so on. So, how can we start by changing our lifestyles gradually? Here it can be introduced with some of our daily habits that make a citizen to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. How much that would be significant in the global scale, it depends on our individual awareness of climate change issues as well as our attitude to the human being irrespective of race, religions and regions (3R)! However, the story goes to the following elements that are still unfolding as a bigger picture for us; 1. We have to use energy saving bulbs as much as possible. An energy saving bulb usually consumes five times less energy than the consumption of a normal bulb. 2. Many of us don’t turn-off light when we leave our room. It is said that our useless 30 minutes lighting per day estimates to 5 days’ nonstop lighting following a year, 3. Keeping standby of our appliances consumes huge electricity that accounts 20 to 40% of our regular consumption of power, 4. Use of less winter heater is better for climate protection. In this case, overheating or overcooling a room should be avoided, or a common heater or cooler could be suggested for more than one room. It is estimated that reducing winter heating by only 1°C cuts electricity consumption by 7%. 5. More internet use on mobile, computer or tablet emits more CO2 due to servers use extensively. About 10 kg of CO2 is emitted per year by one’s searching of something with the internet. 6. Fresh water is becoming scarce. We must care about our water resources when we see that a soaked tap may waste up to 120 litres per day and a malfunctioned toilet flush 1,000 litres per day. 7. To some extent, our transport, vehicles and road system are becoming in horrible condition (!) due to poor infrastructure and governance. Use of public transport and cycling are less prioritized in our cities. In reality, private car based life promotes to increase global carbon emissions. However, when we see- energy consumption of metro passengers is about 14 times less compared to car users. 8. Recycling of waste or lack of proper waste management should be our concern in daily life, especially at the time of product choice and its end usage. Use of disposable product is good for the climate. It says that each year the amount of CO2 emissions from waste incineration is equal to CO2 emissions by 2.3 million cars. 9. Less use of paper in our daily activities is encouraged while the paperless job station has already been created in many places globally including Bangladesh. Deforestation is caused by the paper production that accounts 20% of global emissions and a huge amount of energy is required for making paper. The alternative sources of making paper can be sustainable forests, as suggested by environmentalists. 10. Our food habit can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this sense, arable (crop) farming is quite better than pastoral (animal) farming. A study is shown in the case of French farming that 20% of the country’s greenhouse gas is emitted by their extensive farming. To make climate neutral life, seasonal fruits and vegetables are suggested to keep in daily food chart rather than the food choices to animal protein.
Finally, I would say climate neutral life style could be derived from the sustainability behavior of our everyday lives. All of our choices and actions depend on our own interest and awareness of climate change and its impacts globally. The changing of our lifestyle is indeed a part of our culture and society, but it is our responsibility to shape the lifestyles within our common interest.
(Polin Kumar Saha is a Researcher at BRAC Research and Evaluation Division, [email protected]; [email protected])
