The UN definition of a ‘crime against humanity’ is inhumane acts intentionally causing great
suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.when committed
as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any
civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:
A simple internet search within seconds gives the following stats - European 2022 heatwave causes 62,000 deaths, in 2021 Particulates kill 330,000 in India (BBC 26/10/22), Pakistan 2022 floods kill 1500. Such figures caused UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres to respond man made “climate change is killing us”.
With such large numbers of deaths already occurring, and because global consumption of oil and gas shows no sign of rapidly falling as required, the situation is at best, going to get worse, or more likely, get much worse, so as we now have the indisputable knowledge of the harm caused, isn’t it time to start calling the burning of fossil fuels a Crime against Humanity*?
The holomodor and holocaust occurred, because people deluded themselves that other people were less important than themselves, and invoked a mental blindness to justify their actions, or their decision to look the other way. Today, we rightly condemn those who perpetrated or failed to stop these darkest hours of humanity’s past. But are we not showing signs of the same mental blindness towards today's slow motion global holocaust? We know that more CO2 in the atmosphere causes death, and if we choose to ignore such facts, are we not complicit in the killing of fellow human beings?
Despite tensions, the US and China have held meetings in order to work together on the control of emission. Hopefully they have recognised the seriousness of the situation. Why can’t the UK parties also have talks, so that there is a cross party consensus on policy? Man made Climate change is far more serious than Politics and we all have a duty to work together to make the world better, not worst.
*We now have the knowledge that man made climate change is causing great harm and if we continue to make the situation worse by choosing to ignore this knowledge, we are intentionally causing great suffering - a crime against humanity.
