Climate Change Without Borders: Why One Country’s Choices Affect Everyone
- Shabrina Yasmin
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
There are often two kinds of internet users when I look up information about climate-related topics. First, the person who genuinely cares about environmental issues. On the other hand, a unique viewpoint states that climate change isn’t occurring very often in their nation of origin. It makes me wonder, does climate change acknowledge human national borders? If we look closely, every country has its own behavior when it comes to industrial activities, deforestation, or how they manage their waste production for years ahead. Of course, it will affect climate change in the area of specific nations.
But can you imagine if all of the countries do not have a high concern for climate change? The issue could affect other countries as well!
In 2015, Indonesian forest fires happened to be an example of a disaster that could affect the country itself and rapidly escalate into a regional crisis. Due to land-clearing practices through slash and burn in Sumatra and Kalimantan, haze was produced that massively spread towards Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia and Singapore. It also caused a major public health crisis, which significantly reduced air quality, disrupted school and daily activities, and even led to diplomatic tensions between countries.
The consequences of one country’s environmental decisions can affect regions or even the entire world. Environmental issues are not specifically the responsibility of one exact country. The responsibility for every climate issue ultimately begins with individuals, each of whom has the choice to care for the environment or contribute to its decline. Climate change is a collective global action, not isolated to national policies. Moreover, here are examples of global initiatives that continue to advocate for climate issues globally, bound by neither space nor time:
The Zero Carbon Buildings for All Initiative, which pledges to ensure new buildings and installations do not produce climate-changing emissions by 2030
The “Three Percent Club,” a coalition of 15 countries and institutions that work to drive a 3% annual global increase in energy efficiency by including measures in national plans and sharing expertise
The Clean Air Initiative, which urges national and local levels of government to commit to achieving air with safe and healthy quality and align their climate and air pollution policies by 2030
Every country’s environmental choices could lead to the state of our planet. In a world without atmospheric borders, no climate decision is ever truly local.
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