Will Climate Summit deliver?

The much hyped Climate Summit in Le Bourget, located to the north of Paris, was recently declared open by leaders of over 150 countries amidst tight security. As the main agenda is climate change and its damaging impact, there is high hope around the globe that the summit will be result-oriented this time around, rather than turning into an occasion for an exchange of pleasantries by the participants at the summit. Interestingly, both contributors to and recipients of global warming were expected to have breakfast at the same table over the 12 days of the summit.

International media and independent observers from around the world have been closely monitoring every word uttered, every voice raised, every finger pointed and every head lowered during the sessions, and will surely report and write juicy stories for their readers back home. They will look for scoops and will keep their attention focused on how close the top leaders come to honouring their own words — "the hope of all of humanity" — in a bid to unite to avert a climate catastrophe that probably has started to happen in bits and pieces, here and there. The presence of over 150 world leaders in a town that saw a bloody carnage only a couple of weeks ago perhaps speaks abundantly of the gravity that has been attached to this summit.

Undoubtedly, the future well-being of planet Earth largely hinges on objective analyses by the leaders, through accepting their own role in the worsening of the situation, and finally taking collective decisions to save it. Their action today will save mankind from a nature-induced holocaust tomorrow.

The tell-tale signs of climate aberrations like global warming are already here. The Arctic ice is melting alarmingly, enough to cause sea levels to rise, which in turn is likely to submerge many countries. Bracing for the onslaught are the Maldives and parts of Bangladesh. Only last week BBC Online reported on an expansion of lakes located deep inside the Himalayas as more and more ice and glaciers are melting at a faster rate there. Some small pools are joining together to form large ponds and getting larger by the day. Scientists who are conducting research there are sending warning signals that at one point of time larger lakes will begin to overflow and eventually rush downward to destroy human habitats in their wake. We recall that an excessive melting of snow in the Himalayas have caused flash floods in Bangladesh in the past.

As said earlier, all eyes and ears will remain focused on the summit in Paris, where world leaders from developed and developing countries have been deliberating openly and presenting their individual cases for the record. Will the industrialized countries agree to shut down some of their chemical factories that emit toxic fumes all the year round? Will they take appropriate measures by spending billions of dollars to modernize their factories as a way of minimizing global warming?

Well, it is too early to predict what will be in the joint statement on the concluding day, but what we all expect is a consensus being reached by the powerful nations through joining hands in addressing the global threat and working together towards saving the only planet we call home. Hopefully, the world's leaders are aware that they are a wee bit late in realizing the enormity of the situation.