Owing to its geographical location, Bhutan in the Himalayas remain most vulnerable to Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) triggered by rising global temperature and climate change. This calls for greater climate actions. And anyone can have their say heard.
If you want to have your say on ways to limit this effect, the ways that you want the government to adopt to tackle climate change, there is a platform. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched a global campaign Mission 1.5 in February this year which the UNDP describes is the world’s biggest survey of public opinion on climate change.
In Bhutan, the UNDP country office launched the online campaign on 22nd April coinciding with the Earth Day.
The campaign developed as an online game was launched by the UNDP amid COVID-19 crisis to encourage global citizens to stay engaged in climate dialogue while staying home.
Available at mission1point5.org, the Mission 1.5 campaign is an online mobile-based video game. While playing the game, the players take on the role of climate policymakers and make decisions to try to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees celsius- which is considered a safe level for both- the planet and the people.
Azusa Kubota, the Resident Representative for UNDP Bhutan, says while the climate negotiations have been postponed until next year, people should not slow down and forget about the climate crisis. “It is time for us to stay engaged while staying home. So this online game is a very interesting innovative way for citizens of the world to stay engaged in a climate-changed dialogue and voice their concerns but also there are aspirations for the future they want to see. It is a two-way dialogue in a way that people can express their views while they are learning about climate science,” she added.
After the game the players are asked to vote on key climate actions they want to see adopted. The UNDP says the data will then be delivered to the government who often lack access to reliable information on public opinion on climate change. Globally more than a million people have participated in the game so far.
For a country like Bhutan, climate actions are important as Climate Change and rising global temperature put the country under quite a pressure with threats of GLOF looming large. Of the 25 lakes identified as potentially dangerous, a reassessment of the lakes last year showed that 17 are still classified as potentially dangerous.
Phub Gyem
