ViGiLO - Din l-Art Ħelwa
ISSUE 56 • NOVEMBER 2021
49
RESTORING
BALANCE BETWEEN PEOPLE AND NATURE
ECOCIDE AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN MALTA
by David Marinelli
C
limate Change is the term generally used to describe the global ecological crisis we are facing. The crisis is in fact broader and far more threatening. Climate change is just one consequence of ecocide – the wilful destruction of the natural world. The planet is engulfed in unprecedented volumes of air, land and marine pollution. Biodiversity losses and species extinctions are up to tenthousand-fold of those that would naturally occur.
The collapse of ecosystems that support human and all planetary life is the real crisis. This crisis is threefold, and is that of pollution, climate change and biodiversity losses resulting in ecosystems degradation and collapse. Atmospheric and ocean warming are caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), such as carbon dioxide and methane. The content of GHG in the atmosphere has increased by more than 50% since pre-industrial times.
