ISLAM AND CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPACTS AND CHALLENGES

This paper examines Islam and climate change, with a view to extrapolating the impacts and challenges of climate change and the views of Islam on the global phenomenon. The impacts of the twin phenomena of global warming and climate change ravaging the global community in recent times are enormous, extensive and excruciating. Fueled more by anthropogenic factors, climate change has continued to produce adverse effects on human society, cutting across all spheres of life. Some of these effects include increase in land and ocean surface temperatures, unpredictable regimes of rainfall and accelerated incidence of devastating hurricanes, drought and desertification leading to fall in agricultural production, shortage of water supply, extinction of various flora and fauna as well as wildlife, and decreased human life expectancy due to increased heat waves resulting in various health hazards. In the face of these challenges, Islam one of the world's leading religions, provides its numerous followers with Islamic principles and practical guides on how to relate with their environment. These principles find expression in the teachings of the Quran on Tawhid, khalifah and mizan which stipulate the relationship between humans and their environment. In order to interrogate this important subject, the researcher adopted the use of secondary sources of data as the method of research. It is argued here that failure of the trusteeship role by humans through various activities on the earth led to climate change. The paper concludes by making some recommendations as mitigating measures against further impacts and challenges of climate change.