Citizenship Programme : Environment Week workshop on Climate Change

In line with the activities of ENVIRONMENT WEEK, students of classes 6C and 8E attended a workshop on climate change. They were shown a documentary by THE ECONOMIST titled

What three degrees of global warming looks like.

The documentary offered a global perspective on how much damage can be caused if the global temperature increased by a mere three degrees, as predicted by the end of the century. The documentary included interviews with citizens in Bangladesh, Mexico, South America, Lagos and the Maldives.

Many of us think that climate change means warmer temperatures but temperature rise is only the beginning. Earth is a system where everything is connected and changes in one area influence changes in other areas. The consequences of climate change include intense droughts causing farmers to abandon their land and move to already over-populated cities, severe fires, rising sea levels, melting of polar ice causing complete islands to gradually sink and also storms. Conditions like these cause entire communities to relocate due to floods or famine. The term climate refugees was discussed.

One of the main duties of a good citizen is to participate in climate action and sensitise others to follow. It was agreed that the students would be accountable for saving electricity at home and school, and for spreading awareness about the advantages of switching to solar and wind energy.