Europe in 2050

I’m always disturbed by the phase of development we are in. When we are growing actually we are going down by undermining our future. Recent IPCC report has shown that we have 12 years to tackle climate change and we have to rethink our commitments to keep the warming under 1.5. Europe being a major political entity has a better future under the EU if the truth about climate change is made out and divert people’s attention towards it.
Europe is at the tipping point of development and the population have access to basis. What is the point of accumulating wealth when the future is of climate refugees, scarcity and bigger conflicts? We have been consuming the resources of future generations to accumulate wealth and to show our GDP on top like a kid trained to keep the grades high. If Bhutan can give priority to the Gross Happiness Index rather than Gross Domestic Product why can’t we? Europe has grown a lot from the resources of colonies and the developing countries are still groping amidst poverty, hunger, conflict, depleting resource and corruption. European being a role model for developing countries like India, South Africa and Brazil should show a sustainable path. By, following the Western model we ended up in poverty, hunger, malnutrition, pollution and ironically few riches owning a large share of wealth and lion share defence budgets. As a word leader EU should help to restore the resources, guide for a sustainable future and build the future for millions.
Human intervention has affected the food chain. Many at the lower levels of the chain are critically endangered. The population of herbivores increased which is consuming even the saplings and increased grasslands and we have fewer carnivores. Even the forests can’t survive nowadays due to the disruption and we should assists forest in its sustenance. In contrast, we should know the geography, its history and society to build eco-friendly policies. Due to lack of these ideas, we formed nations ignoring the territorial boundaries. Forming boundaries on the basis of language and ethnicity has led to more conflicts. We have taken whatever resources nature has given. But, what did we give back? Did anyone refill the resources? We need to rethink our interaction with the environment especially farming practices. Do we need genetically modified seeds which affect the native species? Do we need pesticides which kill our insects? If president Macron faced the protests on the streets due to the hike on fuel tax he should tell the truth of climate change, he should have informed it was his climate action to control carbon footprints.
However, the formation of the EU has helped to rule out most challenges and it’s time to act wisely.
It is time to rule out grading and measuring countries on the basis of economic growth like grading done in schools. We should grow with and for our needs, not greed. Though Europe has no much issues like natural calamities, temperature variations and wildfires due to climate change will be a major driver of the EU budget. Tackling the disaster of climate change is costlier than climate action.
We need to reform our curriculum to make it based on climate action. We need to remove topics that are studied unnecessarily and which is extending our schooling and reducing the productive capacity. We need to focus on Research and Development. We should move many things out of the circular economy to keep the economy not overburdened. We should train everyone to recycle our own waste so that there won’t be any wet waste anymore. We should design our cities where less travel is required and everything is connected by metro so that private vehicles become unnecessary in cities. We have to keep the fossil fuels on the ground, we have to preserve the intergenerational equity. We have been doing things in the wrong way by keeping us and our needs at the centre. Now we should keep the environment at the centre. We have to live within the planetary boundaries we should consume for need, not for greed.
If we consume only what is left for our generation and keep the equity of the next generation. There won’t be poverty as their resources are reserved, there won’t be conflicts as no one is coming to steal their resources. EU should mobilize all sections from child to adults to bring efforts to tackle climate change and restore our ecological balance.
We have a large population and limited resources. It is time to deliberate on mutual consensus to develop policies on resource sharing, joint families to save space and construction resources, family planning etc. Climate Action will further strengthen the unity of the EU as the concentration is on securing the future of generations.