The world doesn’t seem to have fully woken up to the impending catastrophe looming over humanity in the form of climate change. Although tokenism rules the roost, there is also a complete lack of understanding between the developed world, which seems to be untouched so far by the grave effects of climate change, and the poorer countries, which are bearing the brunt of global warming. The absence of a collective will to fight back the effects of global warming, much of the blame for which falls on the doors of western civilisation, rules out the possibility of a cumulative push of humanity which is required to stop climate change and reverse the damage done to the earth’s atmosphere. It is no rocket science that the western countries embarked on rampant industrialisation in the aftermath of the world wars with giving two hoots about how toxins released from industries and hazardous gases released by factories fuelled by coal were turning the earth into a gas chamber. The US has been the leading cumulative emitter of hazardous gases which are threatening to push the earth’s temperature to unbearable levels. By its actions, America turned itself into the single largest threat that our world has seen so far. The rising sea levels and intense heat is making farming unsustainable in many parts of the world and Kashmir is no different. We saw this year how the farmers were warned against sowing paddy at the beginning of the spring due to dry irrigation canals. The official warning came as the spring remained largely dry and many Kashmiri farmers opted to sow wheat. However, with the arrival of summer, there was high precipitation which destroyed wheat crops in many parts of the Valley. This is a small example. Take for instance the situation in Pakistan earlier this year where a devastating flood killed more than 1200 people while private and public property worth billions of dollars was destroyed. At many places, the flood was accentuated by glacial lake outbursts which is a direct manifestation of climate change. While the poor people continue to suffer, the ‘civilised world’ seems to be least bothered. Although the developed world had pledged $100 billion as annual reparations to help poorer countries shift to sustainable energy and fight back the climate change, it has miserably failed to deliver on the promise. In the longer run, this lack of action will ultimately shadow the future of humanity on the earth.