Amazon nearing 'point of no return'

The Amazon has long been referred to as the "lungs of the earth". Today, at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP), those metaphorical lungs appear to be facing the same fate that human lungs faced throughout the last century - poisoned, weakened and pushed toward collapse.

A special ministerial event organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Wednesday focused squarely on the Amazon's vital role in the planet's survival, and on how little time remains to save it.

The moderator opened with a now-familiar refrain: "This is the COP of implementation".

Carlos Nobre, a professor at the University of Sao Paulo with decades of expertise on the Amazon, warned early in his address that "The coral reefs are at a no return point due to the warming of the ocean".

He stressed that coral systems were the closest to crossing the climate "tipping point", adding that "The second closest one after the coral reefs is the Amazon".

Without urgent action to end deforestation, he cautioned, "We're gonna lose the biggest biodiversity in the world".

The analogy between failing ecosystems and the tobacco-ravaged lungs of the last century hung heavily over the discussion. Just as the tobacco industry spent decades denying harm while profiting from addiction and declaring it healthy, the fossil fuel lobby has followed a similar pattern of disinformation and delay.

However, this time what's at stake is not just the lungs of individual humans, but the lungs of our collective humanity, which is likewise being poisoned due to a similar kind of wilful inaction as the continuation of the bad habit of smoking. Except the consequences for this habit are certain to be terminal for humanity.

The Amazon provides a significant portion of the Earth's oxygen. However, scientists like Carlos Nobre have suggested that with more than 20-25% of the forest already logged, the Amazon may enter a feedback loop where it starts to die. According to reports, 17% of the Amazon has already died.

"The biggest mangroves are nearby, they absorb a huge amount of CO2", he explained, emphasising that not only do these forests produce a big portion of our oxygen, but also absorb a significant portion of the world's CO2 emissions.

Similar to the remaining 1% of the ancient old-growth forests of British Columbia, when these ancient biodiversity zones are erased, all the carbon dioxide that was previously being stored in them is released into the atmosphere, which ends up warming the planet significantly a decade or two down the road.

"A portion of the Amazon became a source of carbon", reminds the scientist.

The scientist also brings attention to a much scarier prospect. "We have the risk of pandemics", he says, with respect to the worsening degradation of the Amazon.

As these biodiversity systems are disrupted and as temperatures increase, he claims, the risk of epidemics and pandemics increases as well.

He closed his speech with clear and precise recommendations: "Do not let the temperature go over 1.5 or 1.7". It is important to note that in the main, we have already crossed 1.5. He further states that "we need to have 0 deforestation in the world", and "we need to have 0 emissions as soon as possible".

Ana Paul Prates, from the Ministry of Climate Change, Brazil, also warned during the event that "The ocean is humanity's greatest ally in the fight against climate change". This is because, according to scientists, the ocean absorbs around 30% of the CO2 emissions and around 90% of the heat generated by global heating.

Just as for decades the tobacco industry tried to limit action on climate change by pushing false propaganda to maintain their profit margins, and ultimately had to give up significant ground to governments and regulations, there is no reason to believe that the same cannot be done for the preservation of biodiversity and ending carbon emissions.

The gap, however, lies in the willingness of governments to do so. Several non-governmental groups present at COP have emphasised that unless ordinary farmers and people on the frontline of the climate crisis are directly represented without intermediaries, there can never be a proportionate and appropriate sense of urgency to tackle the crisis on a global stage.