Triple Planetary Crisis - Environment Notes

Triple Planetary Crisis is a phrase and paradigm used by the United Nations system to define the three overlapping and worldwide environmental crises of Pollution, Climate change, Biodiversity loss or Ecological catastrophes. Unsustainable production and consumption are, in some ways, the common thread that runs across this Triple Planetary Crisis. Acting on the Triple Planetary Crisis should be at the heart of UNEP's policy for the next five years. This article explains about the Triple Planetary Crisis which is important for UPSC IAS exam preparation.

Triple Planetary Crisis

• The triple planetary crisis, Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Biodiversity Loss – has been identified as the most significant health threat of the 21st century.
• Climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss are the three major interconnected concerns that mankind is now facing.
• Each of these concerns have their own set of causes and repercussions, and each one must be addressed if we are to have a future on this planet.
• It endangers billions of lives and livelihoods around the globe, as well as the institutions on which we all rely.
• It jeopardises the foundations of good health - clean air, safe drinking water, a nutritious food supply, and security - and undermines decades of global health, poverty reduction, and social development advances.
• These challenges cannot be tackled in isolation since attempting to solve climate change may result in the creation of a new problem of biodiversity loss or pollution. We definitely need to take a comprehensive strategy here.

Triple Planetary Crisis - Major Issues

Climate change

• Human activity is the primary cause of climate change. Almost everything we do produces emissions, but energy consumption, industry, transportation, buildings, and agriculture are the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions into the environment.
• Already now, the effects of climate change may be seen in increased intensity and severity of droughts, shortage of water, wildfires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms, and dwindling biodiversity.

Pollution

• Air pollution is the leading cause of sickness and early death in the globe, killing about seven million people prematurely each year.
• Surprisingly, nine out of 10 people globally breathe air with pollution levels that surpass WHO standards.
• Pollution is created by a variety of factors, including traffic and manufacturing, as well as wildfires, volcanoes, and mould.
• Another kind of pollution is indoor home air pollution generated by cooking with polluting fuels and technology, which is estimated to have killed 3.8 million people in 2016.

Biodiversity loss

• Biodiversity loss refers to the reduction or extinction of biological variety, which includes animals, plants, and ecosystems.
• Overfishing, habitat loss (e.g. deforestation to make room for development), and desertification due to climate change are all causes of biodiversity loss.
• Biodiversity is the foundation for everything in the world, as we are all interconnected in the end.
• Biodiversity loss has an influence on food supply and access to clean water - without it, our world has no future.

What steps are being taken to address it?

• There are UN agencies dedicated to each of the global crises.
• UN Climate Change (that's us!) addresses climate change, UN Environment addresses pollution, and UN Biodiversity focuses on, you got it, biodiversity.
• The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification focuses on land and reducing the consequences of drought.
• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed in 1992 in order to address "dangerous human interference with the climate system."
• The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the United Nations institution entrusted with assisting the worldwide response to the threat of climate change.
• UN Climate Change also assists non-Party stakeholders (including businesses and non-governmental organisations) through a range of initiatives and campaigns, including the Marrakech Partnership, Race to Zero, the Fashion Charter for Climate Action, Sports for Climate Action, and Climate Neutral Now.
• The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) is a legal framework established to safeguard biodiversity.
• It went into effect in 1993 and has been signed by 196 countries. Its three major goals are biodiversity protection, sustainable biodiversity utilisation, and equitable benefit sharing from the use of genetic resources.
• The UNFCCC works with other UN agencies to provide governments and stakeholders with coordinated and efficient support as they adopt climate action.
• Another important UN publication is the Frontier publication series, which highlights research into emerging topics of environmental concern, with an emphasis on challenges that have not yet entered the mainstream.
• While UNEP is responsible for writing these reports, the concerns presented are also addressed by the UNFCCC, CBD, and non-party stakeholders.

Conclusion

Today, mankind is confronted with a triple global crisis: climate change, loss of nature and biodiversity, and pollution. These interconnected difficulties are endangering the well-being and life of millions of people worldwide and putting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in jeopardy. To restore peace with nature and facilitate a transition to sustainable socioeconomic systems, addressing the triple planetary crisis needs concerted effort from all sectors of society.

FAQs

MCQs

Question: Which of the following statements is/are correct about the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity?

1. It is a multilateral agreement that was made available for signing during the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
2. India has also signed on to the Convention. It was approved by India in 1994.
3. The convention is not legally binding.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) All of the above

(d) 3 only

Question: Consider the following statements

1. Around three-fourths of the world's population lives in tropical regions, which cover just around one-fourth of the total land area.
2. One of the factors contributing to biodiversity loss is overpopulation.

Which of the above statements is/are correct

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

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