Climate Change Week – call for public to unite to undertake urgent actions against the global threat and cope with the problem. Climate Needs Us!

Such calls are disseminated over the world society to actively engage all social classes in fighting against threats associated with global climate change.

Only several days remain before the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) (this event is launching on 31st October), where the parties – the leaders of different countries and representatives of scientific and non-governmental institutions will gather to discuss urgent issues related to combating climate change and overcoming its effects.

This critical event is preceded by the Global Climate Change Week, which unites wider societies of many countries to undertake common measures against climate change and ensure the sustainable future for our plant.

Climate change is one of the acute problems and the most important challenges of the humankind. The fact that greenhouse emission increase globally despite the recognition of the need for climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as various responsive initiatives and actions is disappointing and especially worrisome. Climate change adversely affects all spheres of human activity and biosphere including its ecosystem functions and services, what directly links to and influences the national economy, human health and various sectors, and represents a limiting factor for poverty reduction. More alarming is that experts forecast notable increase of this threat. The spread of COVID pandemic is partly associated to climate change and degradation and impairing of ecosystems. Therefore, proper attention should be paid to these problems, and as biodiversity preservation is one of the important ways for the climate change mitigation, this issue and responsive measures should be discussed holistically. Public information and awareness raising are of the highest importance in this regards.

Respectively, one of the main objectives of the Global Climate Change Week is to make clear the urgency of the problem for all members of the society and make them willing to make even a small input in the solution, because numerous petty actions can bring considerable result in the end.

This is exactly what the series of the Essay Competitions that has been organized for high school students by Georgian Society of Nature Explorers “Orchis” in the frames of Keep Georgia Tidy Project is targeted at. Specifically, their purpose is to promote the issues concerning climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity loss, degradation of ecosystems, correlation between the environmental state and human health, and sustainable development goals, as they are perceived by the youth. Georgian Society of Nature Explorers “Orchis” has been arranged the mentioned series of the Essay Competitions through the financial support of the Government of Sweden. More than 100 students of over 10 high schools of Georgia participated in them. The Competent Jury of the competition assessed papers submitted by students, and identified total 15 winners, who received monetary award.

Georgian Society of Nature Explorers “Orchis”, engaging with the wider public of the country, plans to carry out several common actions against global climate change to ensure the sustainable future of our planet.