Climate Action Ambassador Simone Borg’s contribution (Times of Malta, August 10) on the report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the only local official comment on this environmentally dangerous situation.

Borg’s comments touch on the difficult times now facing humanity and the increasing difficulties confronting man as a result of the anthropogenic damage that has been wrought.

All of it arises from materialism and greed for power while ignoring the impacts on the planet’s economic, ecological and social networks.

Borg also hints at possible actions which can contribute towards halting such impacts and, possibly, trying to reverse the process.

Strangely enough, the minister responsible for climate change seems to find solace in green walls. He splashes out millions in planning exotic gardens while ignoring Natura 2000 sites and boasts of local ‘landscaping’, which gulps down tons and tons of water, a scarce resource.

While he is mesmerised by the importation of ‘endemic’ seeds, permits for the destruction of trees are dished out at the whims and fancies of his political comrades.

These activities not only fail to contribute anything to addressing climate change but throw more coal onto the fire, to the extent that Malta’s commitment on climate change has fallen far behind established targets. Studies are now being proposed, it has been said.

Climate change may well be too much for the environment minister to chew and comprehend. This despite having the rector of the university and another ‘professor’ there to guide him and lead him in environmental matters in the name of the citizens of this country and beyond.

According to their official stated goal, they take “the leading role in advising government on environmental policy-making at the national level as well as in the context of international environmental negotiations”. Can’t wait to see the minister in action in Glasgow!

The official political approach to climate change seems to reflect Nero’s, who played his lyre while Rome burned. As outlined in Borg’s contribution, the ecological, economic and social impacts of climate change are being felt locally as well. The rise in temperatures has already devastated a percentage of crops, besides other indigenous flora and fauna which form part of our indispensable ecological network.

Sometimes, I have the feeling that humanity is dead bent on eliminating itself from this planet- Alfred Baldacchino

Such losses will, no doubt, lead to higher prices for the consumer, loss of jobs in the field and the disruption of our standard of living and peace of mind.

The multiplier effect of climate change, as also referred to in Borg’s contribution, will eventually lead to further negative economic impacts, including on tourism and local industry, making the island less and less attractive and more difficult for everyday life.

Sometimes, I wonder if the social entities of these islands, be they political, educational, economic, commercial, social or religious, are trying to emulate Easter Island in its fatal vision when it constructed monumental statues (towers in our case) at the expense of ecological resources, with expensive consequences.

Mother Earth is now calling it a day. It has had enough of the lack of foresight in the way humanity manages global natural resources and biodiversity. Mother Earth cannot bear anymore the rape of the ecosystem, the damage being done to the delicate natural network and the complete disregard for the delicate ecological balance.

It is expected that there will be an increase of extreme weather leading to more fires and floods. What are the next steps on these accelerated changes in climate change? Is humanity ready to sacrifice some of its elevated, affluent way of life to save itself?

Political slogans on saving the planet only show man’s arrogance and egoism. Who on earth believes that, to save it, the planet needs one of its species that are dependent on its ecosystem?

Is humanity ready to accept that it is already tasting the predictable future through climate change as the result of the misuse of its ‘intelligence’?

Is humanity ready to come down from its high horse and admit that it is just another species dependent on the ecosystem, like all others?

Can humanity realise that, despite its self-proclaimed intelligence, it is, and will always be, subject to the ecosystem?

Is humanity ready to take the necessary measures to stop the foreseen mass extinction of species, including itself, through its short-sighted vision of greed? Can humanity free itself from its laissez-faire, egoistic greed for more and more?

I’m not optimistic at all. In fact, sometimes, I have the feeling that humanity is dead bent on eliminating itself from this planet.

Humanity is so imbibed, blindfolded, proud of its ego and its quest for power and materialism, that it will be too late when it realises that its selfishness has contributed to its demise.

Is humanity ready to heed this red alert for the sake of its own survival?

In the meantime, while humanity plays the lyre, the planet keeps on burning.