Yes Gokul Bhai, I agree with your statement that forest fore is a major problems for Nepal which enhance the climate change. But forest fire is not only the major problems for Nepal. In my view, weak policy, weak coordination and collaboration between the line agencies and weak monitoring by the government is also the major problems for Nepal. Many of these disasters can be traced back to changes in our climate, fueled by human activity which produces carbon dioxide, methane and other powerful global warming gases. Information from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs shows that between January and June of this year, disasters destroyed 2,154 houses, 55 classrooms, about 2,225 hectares of crops, 14 bridges and 22 kilometers of roads
Climate Change is the burning issue and threatening the existence of human lives. So it is the urgent necessity to take immediate action in order to mitigate the impacts of the climate change.
In my view, there are seven ways to mitigate the impacts of the climate change.
1. Smart and green transportation:
Around the world, transport contributes about a quarter of the pollution that causes climate change. This comes from cars, trucks, buses, planes and ships burning fuel made from oil. Building a sustainable economy means ensuring transportation is clean and green. In order to make a green city, the state should invest its budget smart public transport such as electric buses and motorbikes. This would help to reduce the country’s contribution to climate change, and improve the quality of our air.
2. Buy the local products:
The state should invest huge amount of budget in the local products and community people also necessary to buy the local products. The GHGs scenario is very less in local products than imported from foreign countries.
3. Sustainable eating:
People think that eating only has health implications. But the reality is that what we put on our plates also has a huge impact on climate change. The production of meat based products, for example, consumes a huge amount of energy and produces vast amounts of global warming pollution.
Livestock farming produces more greenhouse gas than all of the world’s transport combined. This is a result of land clearing, methane (a powerful warming gas) produced by cows and sheep, and a range of other factors.
Having a vegetarian diet can reduce the water needed to produce food by as much as 80 to 90 per cent, and reduce your risk of the health problems caused by eating meat.
4. Plant trees:
Trees absorb carbon dioxide (a gas that causes climate change) and produce the oxygen we breathe. Without trees, life on earth for humans would not be possible. So over the next few months, plant a few trees in your area as part of barren land The planet and your lungs will thank you for it.
5. Use less plastic:
There is still some way to go to address the problems caused by plastic pollution. From air quality to ocean toxicity, non-biodegradable plastics contribute to eco-system disruption. At the current rate, there is likely to be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050– an unacceptable situation.
So, next time you are at a restaurant or supermarket, think about how you can reduce your plastic use. This could be as simple as not asking for a straw, or buying products that aren’t wrapped in plastics.
6. Cleaner cooking:
Charcoal remains the preferred fuel for cooking in most Rwandan households, but the negative impacts on our health and the climate are severe.
Around the world, more than four million people die prematurely from illness attributable to the household air pollution from cooking with fuels like charcoal. More than 50% of premature deaths due to pneumonia among children under 5 are caused by the soot inhaled from household air pollution. Using charcoal reduces also causes deforestation and soil erosion as trees are cut down to make the fuel.
A charcoal trader in Kimihurura, Kigali. File.
To address this, the Government has a target to reduce charcoal use from 94% to 50% of all households by 2020. Using liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and other alternatives including solar and thermal applications could reduce wood consumption.
Improved and more efficient cook stoves are a big part of the solution. Save 80 stoves, and Nyerere stoves (which burn compressed wood pellets) use significantly less wood and have been introduced to the local market to help address this issue.
7. Invest in renewable energy
With a fast-growing economy, there is no question that Rwanda needs to scale up its energy production. However, with power generation contributing a large percentage of the pollution that causes global warming, Rwanda needs to be smart in producing electricity and efficient in using it.
One of the easy ways the country can reduce its carbon pollution is to transition from diesel generators. Not only do they contribute to climate change, but the smoke that results from burning the diesel is dangerous to our health and is reducing air quality, especially in Kigali.
One practical solution is to invest in renewable such as solar and hydro, and pair these investments with the latest battery technology that can store the energy and have it ready to use during peak hours.
Best Regards !
Amit Dahit
Figure b3. CO2 variations during the past 1,000 years, obtained from analysis of air trapped in an ice core extracted from Antarctica (red squares), show a sharp rise in atmospheric CO2 starting in the late 19th century. Modern atmospheric measurements from Mauna Loa are superimposed in blue. Source: figure by Eric Wolff, data from Etheridge et al., 1996; MacFarling Meure et al., 2006. (
