Research & Reviews: Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences
MenuISSN: 2347-7830
ISSN: 2347-7830
+44-7723-59-8358Rose Govindaraj*1, Samuel Paul Raj*2
1 Department of Politics and International Studies, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India
2 Department of Lifelong Learning and Extension, The Gandhigram Rural Institute- Deemed to be University, Gandhigram, India
Received: 16-Oct-2023, Manuscript No. JEAES-23-116882; Editor assigned: 18-Oct-2023, Pre QC No. JEAES-23-116882(PQ); Reviewed: 01-Nov-2023, QC No. JEAES-23-116882; Revised: 08-Nov-2023, Manuscript No. JEAES-23-116882(R); Published: 15-Nov-2023, DOI: 10.4172/2347-7830.11.4.002
Citation: Govindaraj R, et al. The Influence of International Non-Governmental Organizations and Youth Movements in Propelling Global Climate Norms. RRJ Ecol Environ Sci.2023;11:002
Copyright: © 2023 Govindaraj R, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Climate change is a gradual variance of the weather pattern that has a long-term impact on the planet at the global level. The twentieth century has witnessed and would endure drastic and severe changes in the earth's temperature. Those climate changes were also expected to occur from earth's orbit variations that modify the amount of solar energy. Growth in population, economies, and standard of living rose the emission of greenhouse gases, which has caused the heat-trapping nature of the earth. The global temperature started rising, oceans melting, sea levels rising, ice sheets declining, melting glaciers, decreasing Arctic Sea ice, melting snow cover, ocean acidification, and many other extreme events are the substantial causes due to climate change. An International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) plays an important role in environmental issues negotiations and in educating civil society. INGOs supervise the implementation of climate norms in the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and the Conference of Parties (COP). Public protest, environmental non-governmental organizations, and the media have abetted to take this issue globally, which alerted people about the deteriorating climate. Youth Climate Movement (YCM) took a new turn in the global politics of climate change as thousands of youths took to the streets demanding to take action on the climate crisis. This paper analyses the involvement and developments of INGOs and the YCM in climate action, how much these INGOs have interacted with the United Nations and also analyses what the causes are and how much climate has exacerbated in the previous year's environmental and geopolitical backgrounds. This paper also explores the extent of the debates and their role in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in this issue.
Climate change; Greenhouse gases; INGOs; Sustainable development goals; Youth movement
The environment is often described as a transcending issue in global politics because environmental issues do not follow any borders. Thus, it has been an international agenda for more than fifty years, before the era of globalisation, Climate change and greenhouse effects were only discussed, and it became an international consensus only in the late 1980s [1]. Since the industrial revolution, the level of carbon dioxide and other gases including methane, nitrous oxide, and halocarbons has continuously risen [1]. The growing divide between humankind and nature drew attention towards the environmental movements in the West. Climate change was seen as an international environmental problem and a huge threat to the ecosystem, energy, and living condition of people [2]. 95 percent of the cause is done by human beings through the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal release which are used in aero planes, factories, and cars. Thus, carbon dioxide becomes the highest ingredient among pollutant gases. As the global population has increased in the last seventy years, animal product consumption also increased, emitting Methane [3]. Climate change has become a very sensitive issue and is highly discussed in big-level meetings among political leaders of developed as well as developing nations and G-8 and G20 summits. On the international level, there have been attempts made for global governance through cooperation among the nations [4].
Globalization has, in a way, helped to expand transnational green politics and intervene directly for NGOs. These NGOs increase awareness, intervene, mediate, and influence international conferences and watch over the country’s implementation of arrangements [5]. Through both the relational study between security, climate change, and the theory of globalisation, it is possible to think of bringing an alternative to such a vulnerable position. Given that perhaps the political parties failed to address these issues, several new eminent NGOs such as Friends of Earth, Greenpeace, and World Wildlife Fund for Nature, along with some established pressure groups including the US Sierra Club, came into effect [6]. The INGOs play an important role in environmental issues negotiations and in educating civil society. The INGOs facilitate the implementation of the Climate Change Framework Convention (FCCC) and the Conference of the Parties (COP) conventions [7]. In 2018 and 2019, a ‘climate strike’ emerged as a Youth Climate Movement (YCM) which demanded extensive action on the climate crisis [8]. It was stimulated by Greta Thunberg’s Friday school strikes and encouraged other children and youth in large numbers across the world resulting in one of the most successful global social movements.
Research questions
What are the involvement and development of INGOs in climate action?
How did the YCM rise and how they addressed the issue in international politics?
What motivated the youth to collectively become an agent of policy-making in climate summits?
How much these INGOs and YCM have interacted with United Nations and their role in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)?
What are the causes and how much climate has exacerbated in the previous year's environmental and geopolitical backgrounds?
Methodology
A conceptual exposition of the analytical approach makes up the study's methodology. This study of the Influence of International Non-Governmental Organizations and Youth Movements in Propelling Global Climate Norms is sociological research, finding concepts that are related to the role of INGOs and YCM with the United Nations in Sustainable Development Goals. Related to the context of this study, which is the role of INGOS in Climate Change, Youth Movements and the Challenging future with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is the conceptual approach. The conceptual method was employed in an attempt to develop a concept that would serve as a foundation for understanding the phenomenon of climate change. By using content analysis methodologies, secondary data was gathered via a documentation study and literature review. To dissect the climate change literary contents from the main source, the content analysis technique was applied. In order to analyse instances obtained from the extraction and gathering of qualitative data, the primary data source was the activity of obtaining secondary data sources in the form of literary resources, such as textbooks, climate journals, and the internet. In this study, the data processing and analysis were done in a qualitative manner. The analysis of data is combined with the presentation of research findings (as the outcomes of data processing). This relates to the idea that data presentation and analysis happen at the same time in normative studies that look at secondary data. That involves combining the information gathered with the analysis related to the cases under study to create a cohesive whole that goes beyond simple description.
Climate change and its effects
Climate change is one of the most significant issues of the existing time and the most prominent, urgent, challenging issue confronted at the global level. The earth's temperature has already increased by 1.7°F since the 1880s which is getting intense in the present scenario leading to a warmer atmosphere, fierce storms and longer periods of droughts [9]. The whole climate change is a man-made consequence. Human activities from environmental damage to population drive up the earth's temperature and essentially change the world [2]. Throughout the atmosphere, Greenhouse Effect Gasses (GHGs) including water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide as well as chlorofluorocarbons enable the light from the sun to gain entry by maintaining a few of the earth's warmth reflecting the space that makes it viable. The natural greenhouse effect is essential for the planet, however as the concentration of these gasses rises, more heat gets stuck, reinforcing the greenhouse effect and raising the temperature on the earth. The rapid rise in atmospheric greenhouse gases has warmed the planet at an alarming rate
Rise in temperature
Climate change has consequences for oceans, the weather, food and health, ice sheet melting, and rising sea level. The warmer temperature as well tends to make the weather quite extreme, meaning not just major intense storms, floods and heavy snowfall and also prolonged and frequent droughts. These weather changes pose problems in growing crops, areas where the live movements of plants and animals are decreased, and water sources are reduced. Also, it impacts human physical health conditions because the warmer climate produces an environment in urban areas that traps and increases the amount of smog this is because smog includes ozone pollutants which rise rapidly at higher temperatures. Higher smog exposure can cause health problems such as asthma, heart disease and lung cancer [11].
According to the predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if intensive use of fossil fuels is not limited, a temperature increase of 2.5 to 10°F is likely to occur by 2099 [10,12,13]. According to National Space and Aeronautics Administration (NASA) research Global warming from 1880-2020 conveys that 2019 was the second warmest while 2016 was the warmest and the last five years were the hottest of the past 140 years [14]. According to the Paris Agreement (2015), the temperature should be below 2 Celsius by 2100. If the temperature increase by that amount, then sea levels will increase by 1.6 feet causing flood worldwide on a large scale in coastal areas, Africa, parts of India and sub-tropical regions would lose one-third of their freshwater, heat waves would intensify and tropical regions would experience it up to three months which affect the agriculture.
Impact on polar regions
Polar regions are the most vulnerable regions to climate change, the earth's north and south are in a crucial condition which has global consequences. In Artic, the average temperature has increased by 5 degrees Celsius in the past hundred years. The thickness of the sea ice has reduced. Similarly, Antarctica is known to be one of the coldest places on earth which contain about 90 per cent of the freshwater supply. Ice plays an important role in the world's climate and in controlling global temperature. The peninsula is the fastest-warming place in the world because of which the Antarctic large ice sheets are melting. Greenland and Antarctica are losing billions of tons of ice per year at the same time.
Climate change in the forest
Forests soak up carbon dioxide and help regulate the climate around the world. These are homes to many plants and animals. Forests are largely affected by climate change, and the impact varies from forest to forest. The subtropical forest is affected the most due to temperature rise along with tropical forests such as Amazon, which has a rich biodiversity. A small effect on these areas will cause high extinction. The shift in the ecosystem is forcing wildlife to adapt to new changing habitats, and many species have become extinct due to the same. Stabilizing forests would protect biodiversity and help in regulating climate change. The world learned in the 1980s that the Amazon was in danger, and that was essential to save it as each-fifth of the oxygen, twenty per cent of the freshwater, and half of the species on this planet come from these forest areas. It is an ecosystem that the entire world requires for its survival. The destruction accelerated by the 1990s and in 2019 deforestation of the Amazon forest hit the highest rate in the decade. Recent data by Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) of Brazil released that the fires in the forest have increased by 30.5 per cent and deforestation rose 85 per cent Amazon Forest is known as the 'Lungs of Earth' as its trees take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide, Amazon plays an important role in dragging the warm greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere to benefit the planet's conservation. Logging [15,16]. The bushfires in Australia in 2020, which was uncontrollable with an evident number of deaths of humans as well as animals. More than 11 million hectares of land have been burned, killing thirty-three people and an estimated 1.5 billion animals. It affected a larger part of the country as the air quality became poor and hazardous. Thus human-caused global warming will continue by increasing the frequency of blazes. Many countries donated to the wildfire funds raised by the concerned countries. 2019 saw large demonstrations by climate protesters pressuring the government and stakeholders to take proper action [17,18].
INGOs and youth movements
The INGOs are non-profit organizations working in various topic areas of world politics to support and secure a common good for the betterment of the future. These organizations increase sensitivity towards society and try to bring change in the relationship with the government. Their composition varies from organizations that are structured, including pressure groups, professional associations or humanitarian associations, as well as social movements. They make effects attitude change which brings citizens of different states close to each other with possible consequences for the state politics like autonomy and economic development. They increase and manipulate interaction among government and other bodies such as trade, monetary, and foreign policy through control or alliance. The non-state actors introduce international diplomatic agendas and raise awareness and consciousness among citizens regarding global and regional issues which changes the pattern of international politics [19].
Emergence of INGOs
INGOs became the major actors in world politics by the 19th century with great influence and explosive growth in numbers. They were divided into three components: Organizational characteristics, policies and objectives as well as their relationship with other social institutions. These voluntary organizations connect across national borders and act on international issues usually known as transnational social movements. NGOs are independent of government and private entities and do not represent profit maximisation as their aim [5]. The number of INGOs is expanding worldwide since the post-war period of rapid globalisation and had a considerable part in the decision-making process due to their advocacy role. In 1940 around 841 Active conventional INGOs grew to more than 3000 in 1972 with a total of 27,000 in 2005 (Union of International Associations, 1948). The growth of INGOs in the last decade has been exponential. Some Organizations such as the International Red Cross Committee, CARE, World Vision and Oxfam were the result of middle-class initiatives which responded to the destructive war and have a status in the United Nations. Legal liability regimes, economic regulation and environmental impact assessment were envisaged as international regulatory instruments for the protection of the environment in the Stockholm Conference of 1972 and Agenda- 21 of 1992 which had a serious role of NGOs in their making [20].
Role of INGOS in climate change
The INGO have an indispensable role in the scientifically understanding climate system and acts as a mediator benefitting people to acquire, comprehend value and acknowledge climate information in decision-making. The condition of Earth is deteriorating since the pre-industrial era and human activities are largely responsible for climate change affecting nature, health and many other sectors. These INGOs support the resilience of society and engage in activities that are collaborated across the system [5]. Most INGOs aim at protecting the environment by reducing risk through adaptation and mitigation. These cover global social development, economic development, sustainable development of the community and sustainable composition. INGOs are included in Intergovernmental (IGO) panels and United Nations (UN) conferences which help them in developing networks and setting up agendas in the Rio Conference of 1992, almost 1,400 NGOs registered and contributed to the process of making agendas on sustainable development. They are broadly classified into three categories functioning as campaigners from eminent groups for climate change and think tanks consisting of scientists, analysts and policymakers who negotiate with the stakeholders by representing different perspectives. For example, NGOs are largely concerned about climate change, such as the Climate Action Network (CAN), which consists of over 1,300 NGOs in more than 130 countries pushing governments and citizens to take action to sustain the ecology [21].
INGO and United Nations
Article 71 of the UN charter gave a consultative status to NGOs with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1946 which unlocked a suitable path for consultation with NGOs. It is necessary to recognize that NGOs were largely involved during the process of the creation of the UN and around 1,200 organizations were present at the establishing conference of the UN in San Francisco. After the accomplishment of Article 71, a list of NGOs with consultative status was established by ECOSOC. The status is categorised into three: First is ‘general consultative status’ which is the highest level that mainly covers the working and issues of agendas in the council, secondly ‘special consultative status’, the organization that deals with or which has special efficiency in few areas of board’s activities and the last is ‘roster consultative status’, the council enables organizations to generate occasional and beneficial inputs [17,22]. It was only in 1968, environmental concerns got attention from the organs of the UN. Afterwards, certain conferences and conventions brought these concerns to the limelight. In 1972, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) was established as a consequence of the Stockholm Conference on the human environment which analysed environmental issues at the global level. Environmental issues became a focus in world politics during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development which is also known as Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 which created Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) [23,24].In 1995 a working of Security Council was formed Organizations such as Global Policy Forum, Amnesty International, Nuclear Policy, Earth Action and World Federalist Movement were convened to cooperate and conduct meetings with representatives to discuss activities in Security Council. There is a growing importance of NGOs in International negotiations, especially since they can gain a legal role in International Environmental law, for example, Agenda 21, a comprehensive agreement that emphasises the development and environmental objectives along with the cooperation of NGOs in international law. Civil Society and the UN have an active and broadened relationship as the UN provides information to NGOs which mobilise the response that would reflect the will and needs of the people [17,25].
Youth movements and challenging future
Climate change activism has been existing for a long time but the role of youth movements is new today in global politics. Youth all over the world began to fight back largely. In 2018, Greta Thunberg, a fifteen-year-old Sweden student began school student activism globally which demanded the government fight climate change and take proper action. Presently there are millions of youths on the streets marching and demonstrating their support through their skills of speaking for climate action through education, science, technology and laws [26].
Juliana versus the United States was named after Kelsey Juliana with other twenty plaintiffs who were below the age of 25. In their lawsuit, they argue that the government has violated the civil rights of a person, liberty and property of future generations. They project on the affirmative actions of a government that caused climate shifts and how they have failed to protect essential public resources. The Juliana complainants had been prevented from going to court till February 2019 when more than thirty thousand people in eleven days, mostly students signed on to support the plaintiff’s right to be heard which was initiated by a youth-led climate action group called ‘Zero Hour’. Other than them there are thousands of similar arguments filed in the U.S. and at least three hundred more around the world. On March 15, 2019, millions of young people joined the movement on the very first Global. Climate Strike which is also known as Global Week for Future. These young activists staged their weekly strikes around the world and were called ‘Fridays for Future ‘because the school students would skip their classes on Fridays to protest. Over one million students in 125 countries were on strike on 15th March 2019 and the second event in May was also successful which coincided with the European Parliamentarian elections and another global climate strike. The Youth Climate Movement (YCM) is growing around the world. The youth are using different and innovative techniques to spread awareness among the people such as two viral hashtags amplifying the climate movement [27].
Youth from different countries have been coming up with lawsuits against their government because of dangerous pollution levels and deteriorating conditions of climate. Many youth-run movements and non-profit political organizations coordinate in direct action aimed at lawmakers. One such movement is known as Sunrise Movement in the United States which is advocating climate change policies. They protested outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters demanding climate-only debate. In August 2019, the largest climate statement of that year was that the founder of the school climate strike movement Greta Thunberg chose to sail across the Atlantic on an emission-free yacht to attend the UN's first-ever Youth Climate Summit. Many other young activists spoke directly to the world leaders at the summit held in New York [28,29]. Youth Climate Summit was a historic event which was held at UN headquarters on September 21, 2019, in New York. It brought together many young leaders and activists from more than 140 countries to showcase and share their solutions for climate action at the UN. They were also involved with the decision-makers on present-time issues. This summit took place before the UN Secretary-Generals Climate Action summit. The programme gave space to young people who were activists, innovators, entrepreneurs and many other such committed champions who combatted climate change terming it to be an emergency. This summit looked up to the demands of youth for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases through action-oriented, intergenerational and inclusive and equal representation. Develop, Nominate and Commit are three major ways through which actions can take place. The theme of the climate change summit was ‘when the adults have failed, young people have taken action for themselves’. As the movement is young, it remains to be seen how much change these movements can drive and successful are they in international politics [17,30]. YCM resulted as a new method of activism and it hopes to sustain the momentum for a tangible political shift. It engaged more than thousands of young and diverse activists which was far more than the usual climate movements. They came up with innovative ideas and policies to adapt the future emergencies. Consequently, young people are trying to understand the multiple dimensions of the future that concern issues such as climate change, human rights and many more global cases of abuse. Though they were denied a path to power, they take the world to dynamic international politics if they maintain keeping the attitude of humanity [31].
Environmental concern: Coordination and policy implementation
The NGOs themselves appear as the country's greatest environmental actors arising from their claim to epitomize a broad body of public opinion that is not sufficiently reflected anywhere in the policy process. In recent eras, the expansion of national and international NGOs marked a dramatic restructuring of the global system. The emergence of numerous NGO groups have joined the climate change debate and discussed the different tactics to influence state and member state policymakers. It is widely accepted that the national and international NGOs have pledged “advance new ideas, advocate, protest, and mobilize public support, will be the voice to the unrepresented, legally, scientifically, technically, and through policy analysis by providing services and make an outline of the policies, implement, monitor, and also enforce those in the national and international commitments and at last change institutions and norms”. A subsequent evaluation of policy reforms begins inside the detailed national NGOs, but it is also true that it lays them more often in this globalized world in interaction with international players. For example influential research by NGOs on transnational advocacy networks and stress alliances between domestic and international NGOs (INGOs). INGOs thus suggest a close ally that domestic NGOs are supporting by pushing states to social change [5,32].
Evolution of environmental issues on the international agenda
In the initial years of its establishment, addressing the environmental problems, accompanied by climate change and its impacts, was not a big concern of the UN. All issues have been restricted to functioning activities, mainly through the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It was not considered an important global issue till the beginning of the first 23 years. In 1949, whenever the UN Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Use of Various Resources acknowledged the degradation of these Natural Resources. However, the main focus was on how to mitigate and manage them for states' economic and social development, but it did not yet form a conservation perspective. This was not before 1968 that perhaps the United Nations agencies received significant attention to an environmental problem. On 29 May 1969, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) included these issues as a particular item on its agenda and later agreed to support it by the General Assembly itself in holding the first United Nations Conference on Human Environment. This landmark meeting was held from 5th to 16th June 1972 in Stockholm. The Scientific Conference, also known as the First Earth Summit, accepted a declaration setting out different principles for the protection and enhancement of the human environment, and also a plan of action containing approval of international environmental intervention to both the planet [33,34].
For the very first time, the Declaration addressed climate change concerns and cautioned the various governments to be vigilant about indoctrination and further increase pollution practices that could contribute to climate change and determine the risk and extent of climate impacts. In 1979, the UNEP Governing Council asked its Executive Director to review and assess long-range air pollutant transport in the Earth Watch programme. The application earlier also started and accepted the international climate instrument on the Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Convention. Furthermore, UNEP went over the top in the 1980s, as the Governing Council expressed serious concern about the ozone layer damage and further recommended other alternatives in Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) production and use. It also found that there is a subsequent percentage of CFCs within household appliances. It targeted a 30 per cent reduction in sulphur emissions. In Europe and North America, climate changes due to air pollution and its effects in different ways were beginning to feel worldwide in the form of acid rain [3].This makes the UN and other international organizations consider the seriousness of the issue, once agriculture itself is affected due to the acid rains in the purported advanced countries in the world. It has also caused UNEP and WMO to keep it in check in various programs and to try to balance between them, and a large fund has also been kept aside for research on this topic on what can be done to mitigate this. Global warming and the loss of the ozone layer became a significant and widespread debate subject in numerous national and international forums in the year 1988. A new forum was launched in the name of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in order to create a continuous and objective beginning of global warming and climate change [6].
The gradual rise of NGOs in policy making
In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) was held, the other milestone of the INGOs that are expanding as NGO actors in international law. UNCED is a perfect platform that demonstrates how NGOs can take part in the negotiating system and also provide expert knowledge and much more scientifically mitigate issues. As with the OSP AR Marine Environment Convention, about 1,500 NGOs were ascribed to attend formal meetings and some informal meetings at the UNCED.
During the 1992 Earth Summit (Rio Conference)153 states and the European Union entered into the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Conventions (FCCC). And that was a legally binding international treaty designed to stabilize greenhouse gas production and slow climate change due to different human activities. This acted as an impetus for their participation in potential UN as well as other INGO conventions. The report also launched a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and by the end of 1992, approximately 158 countries were a member of it [35]. Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which was espoused in 1997 by the UNFCC and became a vital element and most effective of climate change actions. When the Earth became more vulnerable to GHGs which affected the climatic pattern of the world, an international agreement was aimed at limiting the emission of carbon dioxide (Co2) and other GHGs, especially the industrialized countries by five per cent. It was contracted in March 1998 and came into force as an international law on 16th February 2005. It worked effectively in many countries including European Union (UN) more than 160 countries negotiated it [36].
Paris agreement to other developments
Kyoto Protocol ended by the year 2012, all the parties in this agreement met at Doha and adopted an amendment to the original agreement which came to be known as the ‘Doha Amendment’. It added a period of commitment from 2012- 2020 to reduce the emission of gasses but sustained for only a small period. At the 2015 Paris Sustainable Development Summit, all UNFCCC members signed another agreement to the Paris Climate Agreement which could replace the Kyoto Protocol efficiently. The agreement seeks to significantly minimize global greenhouse gas emissions so that it can be limited to a global temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels in this century while pursuing measures to restrict the increase to 1.5 degrees. The main objective of the protocol was to make a compulsory obligation to the signatory countries to reduce climate-changing emissions and strengthen the commitments on the environmental collectives over time. Nearly 197 nations have already accepted the Paris Agreement to date, with the last signatory being war-torn Syria, with a wider goal of protecting the environment and youth participation in the implementation of policy [11]. The Paris Agreement reveals the climate skeptics of America and their control over all such policies. Instead of the Paris Agreement, there were many climate change actions locally and internationally by many countries as well as INGOs and NGOs. All these, measures will be added with the support of the policymakers to assure that we together can mitigate this climate change issue. Earlier in 2015, leaders from around the world's 193 countries gathered to access and mitigate the problem. The UN Development Program (UNDP) worked relentlessly to achieve the objective of reaching the Sustainable Development Objective (SDG) by 2030 [8].
INGOs and YCM interacted with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
The 13th SDG is taking urgent action to combat climate change. Every country on the planet is experiencing and impacted by dramatic climate change and few countries are more affected than they are triggered by emissions. This understanding makes all the countries share a collective goal in this. As a humanitarian ground and on the collective responsibility it is seen that many developed nations and the UN were helping the countries which are affected by natural calamities. With the technical know-how and well-planned policy strategies of a company with the world nations, the mean temperature rise can be limited to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial rates and thereby minimize the climate change worries after the results. The UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the current treaties offer a forum for the numerous Member States to achieve this endeavour [8].The world bank has also adopted the SDGs and the states borrowing the assistance have been obliged to follow the climate-mitigating structures of SDGs. All these agreements were made to strengthen the country’s fight towards climate change with the support of technological know-how, financial assistance, and various projects. 2019 was the second warmest year recorded last year and recorded the warmest decade. The sea level rising, and the flooding caused due to this damage to the livelihood of the people living nearby. The weather patterns got a complete change, in some areas excess rain and some areas, there is very low rainfall and the weather is not changing according to the calendar that our parents followed. A country like India fully depends on the weather conditions and less irrigation is affected more, there are similar conditions in many countries as well.
As per the IPCC report released in October 2018, by 2030 forty-five per cent of carbon pollution should be brought down and by 2050 it should reach zero. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), it is expected that between 2030-2050 there would two million deaths due to climate change and according to an analysis by HSBC Global Research India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Middle East and North Africa are the few most exposed countries to various physical effects of climate change with Canada, Finland, Russia, Sweden being some of the least vulnerable countries. World Meteorological Organization of UN mentioned in its report 2019 that the past three years were the hottest 2017 was the costliest year due to climate change disasters while 2018 extended harmful weather such as water shortage and increasing temperatures [37]. Talanoa Dialogue was established in the year 2018. The Dialogue is an allocated mechanism that has called on treaty members to take stock of joint initiatives that can minimize pollution and create greater bouncy, in line with the Paris Agreement's long-term goals, and to plan revised and improved NDCs by 2020. Similarly, in the United Kingdom, they introduced a 25-year environmental plan which is having aim to protect and augment the environment in England for the coming generations. They developed a plan which touches on plastic recycling, biodiversity, climate change, various pollutions, mainly air pollution and many more. During that time, the UN General Assembly, which took place on May 10, 2018, adopted a resolution on a global environmental pact. In light of the text of the resolution, the Assembly agreed to launch an ad hoc open-ended committee to consider the technical and evidence-based study identifying and evaluating possible deficiencies in international environmental law and environmental devices to improve their implementation [38].
The proposed report was submitted in the 73rd session in 2018 and made a global platform for discussing the possible solution for addressing the gaps and mitigating a possible solution. This may include a need to convene an intergovernmental symposium to allow them to implement an international instrument that will be feasible for all countries to mitigate climate change. The United Nations has shown its leadership role in taking issues necessitating global action to international attention. However, its efforts all over the years to make the issue of climate change a central focus of the international agenda continue, even as contrasting sides of the debate try to make their case. The UN has observed that there is serious ignorance of climate change and environmental crises even after long and loud policies are made in this regard and this sounds alarming to the world countries. It was also understood that the present crisis should be seen as an opportunity for world leaders to make public policies which are more sustainable for the people as well as the planet Earth.
Climate positive goals
The UN Secretary-General wishes that governments take six climate-positive goals once they develop their economies and societies back:
• Green transition: In this regard, we need to accelerate the decarbonization of all aspects of our economic investments.
• Green jobs, sustainable growth as well as inclusiveness across all sectors.
• Green economy: make communities and people more resilient through an evolution that is equal to everybody and does not leave anybody behind in the process of growth.
• Invest in sustainable solutions: Introduction of more sustainable ways to substitute the use of fossil fuel and also the subsidies given to fossil fuels to end and make fines for the person who is using them.
• Antagonize all climate risks.
• Cooperation with all the countries as this is not confined to a particular area [39].
Whilst also greenhouse gas emissions are expected to decline by about 6 per cent in 2020 due to travel bans and the COVID-19 pandemic resulting from the economic slowdown, this change is only temporary [40-45]. Global warming is not in a stalemate. When the world economy starts to recover from the pandemic, emissions are projected to rise to elevated amounts [46-50].
Regarding global issues, the environment is considered an archetypal example. The countries are strangely vulnerable to the environmental activities happening in other countries which are meant to be the fundamental character of transnational environmental processes. Therefore, headway on environmental issues can only be made at an international level. There have been several discussions and disagreements on the seriousness of environmental issues and how to overcome these problems. Most of the time it’s taken philosophically debating on the relationship between humans and nature. There was an accord that the climate changes are a result of human activity, industrial age was the beginning of the emission of greenhouse gases however disagreement persisted, and the seriousness of the issue was taken into a concern to tackle the scenario. Few steps could be taken to limit the worst effects of the climate through mitigation, adaptation and international agreements. It is a global issue which intimidates the complication of economic, political, social and moral aspects. International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) help in mitigating and adapting measures such as reducing greenhouse gases, carbon pricing, reforestation and restoration along with research and international agreements to combat climate change. Such groups work on various topics and fields of world politics to promote and secure a common interest for the betterment of the future. They become a mediator between the citizens and the government and also act as pressure groups, associations, researchers and social activists. The existence of a climate change issue has made the traditional position of NGOs very daunting as activists. It is allegedly hard to "sell," and interact with people. NGOs had also participated in a variety of behaviours against and with states, specific populations and the community in assistance of more constructive climate change policies and faster procedures of enactment. They scored some direct successes as well as some implicit ones, but it could be said that almost no breakthroughs have been achieved. This is a lengthy and complex method with at stake critical political and economic problems. Our review highlights the important need for "insider" capacity that if NGOs work closely and in collaboration with key negotiation teams and governments, they are likely to be the most far-reaching effects on career peace negotiations.
The world has witnessed millions of youths demonstrating from around the globe, trying to push for action on the climatic conditions. This is undoubtedly a modern world social movement. Getting social networking links and being motivated to participate is consistently one of the best predictors of who gets active in mass mobilization. A few young people are inspired to get engaged in protest rallies by others. In terms of sustainable development, youth have added much less to pollution but will be much more affected by climate change over their lives. Substantially, there are far more courses and projects on environmental topics accessible in educational institutions. While contemplating if the youth participating in these mass movements are being "manipulated," it is useful to consider the fact that they're more interested in combating climate change than older adults as they are struggling for their futures and are better educated on such issues in general.
The first proof of concept and design was Rose Govindaraj. This was then extended by Samuel Paul Raj S, who wrote the research questions and method of research. The data collection was done by Rose Govindaraj and the analysis and interpretation of results were done by Samuel Paul Raj S. Eventually, both authors discussed and agreed on the main focus and prepared the draft manuscript. Then both authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
The authors affirm that they have no competing interests, or other interests that might be perceived to influence the results and/or discussion reported in this paper.
The authors declare that data supporting the findings of this paper are available within the manuscript. This manuscript has not been published elsewhere nor are they under consideration by another publisher.
The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work. No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript. No funding was received for conducting this study. No funds, grants, or other support were received.
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