In the recent years, there has been an increase in recognition of Climate Change. As more and more scientists gather information on Climate Change, there seems to be a clear understanding that Climate Change is truly affecting the world. However, in the past week, it was reported that our efforts to control and maintain Climate Change, have not been enough. Scientists predict, at the rate of we are going, we only have 12 years to keep the Earth’s temperature at 1.5 Celsius degree.
United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel and Climate Change (IPCC), released their  Climate Change report this past Monday. In the report, it was concluded, we only have 12 years to keep the Earth’s temperature at 1.5 Celsius degree. Why are the numbers 12 years and 1.5 Celsius Degree, magic numbers? Well, in 2015, during the Paris Agreement, hundreds of policy makers and politicians took a vow to help keep temperatures of Earth between 1.5-2.0 Celsius Degree. This would help slow down Climate Change. The problem is, the report now describes the difficulty of keeping the world’s temperature between 1.5-2.0 Celsius Degrees. Along with the problem of maintaining the Earth’s temperature, scientists see changes in every field of nature. From weather, to the sea levels, to the forest. Unfortunately, Climate Change will not spare any part of Planet Earth. There will be food shortages and wildfires. Scientists have even calculated the total cost of all the damages if world leaders do not act upon the new report to be a total of up to $54 trillion in damages.
The next phase is to find out what world leaders and regular people, like us, can do to help combat the ever growing Climate Change. A big factor is creating technologies that will help combat Climate Change. The IPCC recommends that there needs to be a 40-50% reduction in emissions by 2050. Along with reducing emissions, scientists suggest growing a new garden or forest to help combat the emissions. Another favorite of scientists is using biomass to reduce the use of fossil fuel for electricity. However, the easiest way to help reduce emissions, is not to create emission in the first place. Be careful of CO2, the biggest culprit in Climate Change. If we watch how much we are letting CO2 in the air, we can have a big impact on the growth of Climate Change.
It is scary to see how rapidly Climate Change is growing. At first, many of us thought, we had it under control. We thought that if we were knowledgeable on the subject, we were making a difference. However, something like Climate Change needs action. According to the IPCC report, it does not look good for us or for Earth. Climate Change is getting worse. Look at the damages it has already created. Now think about, what it can do in the 12 years and beyond if it is not controlled.
References:
Davenport, Coral. “Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-report-2040.html.
Irfan, Umair. “4 Big Takeaways from the UN’s Alarming Climate Change Report.” Vox, Vox, 9 Oct. 2018, www.vox.com/2018/10/9/17951924/climate-change-global-warming-un-ipcc-report-takeaways.
Joyce, Christopher. “Climate Report Warns Of Extreme Weather, Displacement Of Millions Without Action.” NPR, NPR, 8 Oct. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/10/08/655360909/grim-forecast-from-u-n-on-global-climate-change.