"A systemic change is needed which helps us to adapt to climate reality"

SANTO DOMINGO. Beyond the individual efforts which people can carry out to lessen the effects of climate change, it is the society as a group that needs a "systemic change which helps us to adapt to the new climate reality." This is the opinion of Bruno Takahashi, a journalist and professor of environmental communication at Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Michigan.

Takahashi argues that from current evidence it is now undeniable that climate change is occurring, and he notes among these, the increase in the level of the oceans, due to the melting of the glaciers; the long droughts in some parts of the planet; the extinction of marine species, and the increase of global temperatures.

"Climate change basically refers to the acceleration of natural climate changes in the planet due to the participation of human beings," he explains. This variation he says, affects mostly the poor communities, which generally live in horrible areas, and have no way to adapt themselves to the new climate realities.

Because of this he feels, that "it is the role of government, and through the governments, the industry's, groups from the civil society, to determine the best actions" in order to deal with this reality. Likewise, he feels that climate change is an issue of human development and for there to be a future better planning will be needed in order to guarantee sufficient food and work for the growing world population, which pressures natural resources.

Takahashi, from Peru, and living in Michigan, participated as a speaker in the workshop "Media coverage of climate change: better practices in a context of uncertainty," which was provided for reporters from Puerto Plata, Santiago and Santo Domingo, with the auspices of the Diario Libre Foundation, the United States Embassy, and the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra. He was, in addition, this week's invitee to the Dialogo Libre, sponsored by this newspaper.

The Dominican case

It is Takahashi's understanding, that the Dominican Republic, because it is an island country, and whose economy depends to a great degree on tourism, should take into account what is happening in the islands of the Pacific, where the increase in the ocean level is eroding their beaches and slowly covering the islands.

"You have to begin to think at the level of government and the tourist industry about how this can be foreseen in the long term, because this is not going to happen suddenly, tomorrow; is not going to happen next year, in the next five years, but obviously it is going to happen, and it is to have this long term vision at the organizational level, at the macro level, in order to be able to adapt," the expert appealed.

He says changes are inevitable

The professor said that he felt that the negative changes which the planet's climate is undergoing are inevitable at this time, due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide, the principle cause of global warming. In his judgment, it is not enough that emissions are reduced, because the carbon that is released into the atmosphere takes thousands of years to disappear. "That this is a question of thinking about how to reduce the emission, lower, reduce the emissions, but also together with adaptation."

The DR could benefit from the REDD

Takahashi revealed that this year, the Dominican Republic became a part of the UN- REDD program, which pays emerging nations to conserve their forests. The nations function as "kidnappers" of carbon dioxide. "The idea is to provide a greater incentive than what the people would obtain from cutting, burning and farming in those lands," he explained.

He feels that the country could take advantage of the negotiations which occur in the conferences in the different parts of the United Nations, in order to try and obtain those incentives.

He is pessimistic regarding a possible global agreement on climate

Next December, the countries of the United Nations who are signatories of the framework agreement on climate, will again meet in Paris, France, with the intention of producing a document which establishes the new rules in order to halt climate change.

Nevertheless, Takahashi declares himself to be "a little pessimistic" regarding this meeting. He recalled that in former attempts, the signing of the agreement failed because the proposals did not oblige the emerging countries, such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases, but do oblige the developed nations. But these nations feel that they will lose competitiveness against the emerging nations. "So you have to have some type of an agreement within this framework, which brings together these two positions, because without the participation of a country such as the United States in a convention, the convention simply does not have sufficient force," he emphasizes.

With this he is not saying that the United States is not committed to the issue, he believes that internally there is a political will.

Takahashi says that if he had the opportunity to speak with the world's political leaders, he would tell them to sign this agreement in Paris. "I would tell them to get rid of those interests, I know it is difficult, that it is not going to happen from one day to another, and that we simply need action by the government's," he sustained.