The UN climate change report: Future uncertain
The report will force you to ask hard questions about every decision you have or will take for your kids
It seems the word ‘unequivocal’ has been used 32 times in the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, pointing to the fact that climate change is certain. The worst part is how quickly it is going to affect us all. Most importantly, it has forced me to question every decision I have or will take in the future for my family.
Was having a kid a correct decision?
A lot of my friends and relatives do not want to have kids – among other reasons, climate change finds a definite spot. Why should we bring a life into a world that is already collapsing, they ask. They aren’t wrong, at least not now, especially when we are sure that the change will happen in a couple of decades. This is when my kiddo will turn 20, just about the time when she would want to explore the world and look forward to opportunities. The report further says that kids born in 2021 can face multiple climate-health related threats by 2050. We all have dreams for our kids. We want to give them stuff that we were not able to get and provide experiences of which we were deprived. I hate being reminded every year that my decision of bringing a life into this world did no good, particularly to the new life itself. This is a question that I want to forget.
Should I buy a property?
This is every person’s dream. Owning a property and passing it on to their kids. “Property value never declines.” This was true till a few days ago. It will however not hold when cities go under water, land parcels come crashing down, water shortage leaves cities dry and regional heatwaves become more prominent. You would want to move out of the hellhole that you are in. I am at a stage in life where buying a property is a decision that I would have to make in a couple of years. Should I or should I not? It’s a very difficult decision to make.
How much money is enough?
We’ve been advised to “save for the rainy day.” Funds, stocks, gold and cash, maybe cryptocurrencies too lately. But how much is enough? How do I ensure I have the cash to get through sudden and drastic changes that the climate may inflict on my family in the future? The COVID-19 pandemic which started in 2020 has forced a change in consumer behaviour with an increasing number of people suddenly making health and insurance their top priorities. This was not the case a year earlier. Again, the question here is how do I assess how much insurance and health cover is enough to protect my family in case of sudden changes? Hopefully, financial planners have already started thinking about it and in the coming years, we will see products that take this change into account.
What are the things that I must safeguard my kid and family from?
If COVID-19 was not enough, we now must deal with erratic weather conditions. Mumbai, which had not witnessed cyclones for many decades, saw two of them coming very close in the last couple of years. Regions that were considered “safe” have been inundated with floods. Heatwaves are getting worse and diseases that were never heard of have come to kill us. Yes, these are the extra list of things that you need to protect your family from other than the usual life-threatening diseases, crimes, accidents, etc., that are part of your normal life. That said, do we have climate change-related insurance in the market yet?
Will migrating countries make my kid’s life better?
Let me start by quoting one of the co-authors of the UN report Linda Mearns – “Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide”. I have had dreams of migrating to Canada, New Zealand, Australia and off late to Estonia. This one line shattered it all. So, make good where you are unless you are willing to take the risk. I remain hopeful though. There may be a promised land somewhere.
What questions do you have? Or have you ever thought about it at all? If not, read the report or at least the gist of it. I do not intend to scare you but being at least half prepared is better than running blind, no?
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