Science

Lesson

5 Contemporary Events

Read the following events or news items:

1. COP-21: Conference on Climate Change

COP-21

The twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) was held in Paris (France) from 30
November to 11 December 2015. The end of the conference saw the adoption of the Paris Agreement
on December 12, 2015 by the COP to the UNFCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change). The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-21) was the largest international
diplomatic conference ever organized by France. The event was part of the cycle of major UN
conferences on climate change. The conference had covered the total area of 180,000 square meters
and used two plenary rooms, 32 negotiating rooms, three press conference rooms, 67 pavilions and
200 stands. COP-21 had hosted over 25,000  accredited persons and had seen the largest number
of Heads of State and Government participating in the conference. These Heads of the State and
Government demonstrated their political commitment to making the Paris Conference a success.
The states parties decided to limit the global rise in temperatures below 2°C which requires checking
and stopping the emissions of greenhouse gases particularly by developed countries and developing
countries. Energy efficiency measures, investing in renewable energy sources and reforestation are
some of the important measures to achieve the target to limit the global rise in temperatures below
1.5°C and in no conditions above 2°C. Out of 195 countries, 185 have announced measures to limit or
reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 or 2030. But even if these commitments are fulfilled,
temperatures would still be set to rise by around 3°C – a sure sign of danger which shall drown
many island countries in the world.
Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are in vulnerable situation because before they could move
on the path of industrialization, climate change has already restricted them for no fault of their
own. These countries are not the actual polluters and they are suffering more than those who
actually committed the sins of environment pollution, global warming and climate change. They
require assistance and assurance for their development from the group of developed countries.
Conference on climate change in Paris – COP-21 took notice of the concerns of LDCs and pledged
to help them financially through Least Developed Countries Fund, the Adaptation Fund and
the all-important Green Climate Fund. Uited States of America, European Union and other
developed countries have promised to continue the financial assistance and pay to LDCs with
the help of these dedicated funds and technology transfer and any other required assistance. But
industrialized countries do not wish to be the only ones paying, and want a contribution from
countries like China, South Korea, Singapore and the rich oil-producing countries.
At present, China and United States of America are the top two polluters in the world in terms of
the largest producers of ‘Carbon-di Oxide’ emissions. COP-21 assured the small island states and
African and Asian LDCs for their safety and all kinds of scientific and technological assistance.
It is to note down here that COP-20 held in Lima (Peru) had established ‘Green Climate Fund’ of
10.2 billion dollars offered by the countries like Norway, Australia, Belgium and others.
Nepal has been ranked as the fourth most climate-vulnerable country in the world. The country
is highly exposed to a range of water related hazards such as floods, droughts and landslides.

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Current projections predict increased climate variability and increased frequency of extreme
events causing natural disasters of higher intensity. These hazards pose enormous costs to
Nepal’s economy and an estimated one percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
is lost to natural disasters consisting of frequent events such as floods and landslides. Poor and
rural populations including women tend to be the most vulnerable to such risks. In the climate
sensitive agricultural sector, farmers need timely information on weather and climate variability
to adjust their farming practices and minimize adverse impacts on rural livelihoods, agricultural
productivity and food security.

2. Solar Energy: Hope for MEeting Energy Crisis in th World

Mar 11, 2018, 03.47 PM IST
New Delhi:
French President Emmanuel Macron said USD 1 trillion will be needed to achieve one terawatt
(TW) of solar capacity by 2030. Speaking alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the founding
conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), he said three primary things need to be done.
Firstly, identify solar energy potential in each country, their projects and financing requirement.
Secondly, mobilise available finance and thirdly to provide a favourable framework. ISA, he said,
will bring member nations financing as well as share expertise between them. On financing, he
said, the French Development Agency will allocate 700 million euros in additional spending to
its commitment to solar energy by 2022, taking the total commitment to 1 billion euros. "But in
order to reach the 1,000 billion dollars by 2030, to reach the 1TW of solar energy, we need private
investors," he said, adding that the alliance will provide a favourable framework. "It means that
we will improve the regulations, the terms in order to support investments in renewable. It is also
about improving public procurement and to provide efficient policies," he said, urging nations to
facilitate purchase and supply of electricity gen erated from solar energy. Lauding India for showing
the world the way in scaling up solar power generation capacity, he said, renewable capacity has
within two years gone up from 39 gigawatt to 63 GW, while that of solar energy has soared by 140
per cent. @India proves that it is possible. This is what 121 countries of the alliance in Asia, Africa,
Latin America shall be doing.

3. International Health Crisis: Ebola

The year 2014 is taken as Ebola epidemic year. World Health Organization (WHO) had officially
accepted that Ebola virus killed more than 7,500 people till December 2013. The epidemic spread
like a wild fire after it struck a village in Guéckédou, in southeastern Guinea when a 2-year-old
boy who died on December 6, 2013, just a few days after falling ill. Bordering Sierra Leone and
Liberia, Guéckédou is at the intersection of three nations, where the disease found an easy entry
point to the region. A week later, it killed the boy’s mother, then his 3-year-old sister, then his
grandmother. All had fever, vomiting and diarrhea, but no one knew what had sickened them.
Suspected cases of Ebola kept on popping up in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – three of
the world’s poorest countries and reached up to Nigeria until January 14, 2016 when the WHO
declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease. The WHO in a statement
said that “all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa”, with no cases
reported for at least 42 days in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the three states hardest-hit by
the outbreak.” The Ebola epidemic claimed the lives of more than 11,300 people and infected over
28,500. The disease wrought devastation to families, communities and the health and economic
systems of all three countries.
The incubation period (the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms) is 2

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to 21 days. Humans are not infectious until they show clear symptoms. First symptoms appear
with the sudden onset of fever fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. Then, patients
suffer with vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function, and in
some cases, both internal and external bleeding (coming from the gums, blood in the stools).
Ebola is believed to have been introduced into the human population through close contact with
the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees,
gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelopes and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.
Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken
skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected
people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.

Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal
illness in humans. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human
population through human-to-human transmission. The first EVD outbreaks occurred in remote
villages in Central Africa (South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo), near tropical rainforests
in 1976. The deadly virus then struck a village called Yambuku in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ebola (meaning “Black River,” in the local language Lingala) is the closest river to the village
Yambuku struck by the Virus. Therefore, the virus was named as Ebola virus and the disease was
called ‘Ebola Virus Disease’ (EVD).

Words and terms you would like to know

Plenary (n.): attended or meant to be attended by every member or delegate
Plenary Room: a room (hall) where a plenary meeting, session, or a lecture at a conference takes place
Accredited (adj.): given official recognition to somebody
Hazard (n.): dangerous outcome; something that is potentially very dangerous
Epidemic (n.): fast-spreading disease
Outbreak (n.): sudden occurrence

Activities

1. Do self-research on ‘climate-change’ and collect the information about its nature and impact on
the world. Make a table to show the symptoms and effects of climate change.

2. Explain why the world is facing the crisis while using non-=renewable source of energy? Ho far
solar energy provides the answer to replace the non-renewable source of energy by renewable
source such as solar energy?

3. Collect the news related to contemporary events concerning with economic, political and social
life of Nepal and different parts of the world from newspapers, magazines, weeklies, journals and
so on. Show the collection of news on the walls of your class.

4. Organize a quiz competition in your classroom on the events which took place last week.

Exercise

1. What is global warming? Why does it happen?
2. Bring out the inter-linkage (connection) between the global warming and the climate change.
3. Least Developed Countries must not suffer for the sins committed by the ‘Developed Countries’.

Examine the statement in light of climate change with appropriate illustrations.

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4. Write in points how the ‘Developed Countries’ should help the Least Developed Countries and
island countries to escape or reduce the effects of climate change.

5. What is COP-21? Highlight its two major outcomes.
6. What are the major symptoms of Ebola? How does it transmit and spread as epidemic?
7. Describe why solar energy is the best alternative of enrgy for the world.
8. Write a news report selecting events from neighbourhood of your village.
9. Write down at least five news or information or incidents which you have gathered from the radio

and television.

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