The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a branch of the United Nations Environment Programme, released its fifth report on Monday, October 8, warning that we have about 12 more years until climate change causes severe and irreversible damage.
According to this report, any global temperature exceeding 1.5ºC will potentially cause severe droughts, flooding, extreme heat, and an increasing number of environmentally-displaced refugees.
Countries must work together to bring global temperatures down to pre-industrial levels if they want to avoid any further damage to the environment. This means more investment in reforestation, electric transport systems and new methods of removing carbon from Earth’s atmosphere. The IPCC stresses that carbon pollution must be cut by 45% by the year 2030 in order to reach the target goal of 1.5ºC or lower.
Decreasing the global temperature would prevent the extinction of coral reefs, ease pressure on the Arctic and lower the frequency of extreme heat waves. It would also prevent the amount of people being exposed to water insecurity and food scarcity, given that climate change causes smaller crop yields.
Lowering the global temperature would be beneficial for everyone, but there is simply not a strong enough sense of urgency surrounding the problem. The gap between science and politics is obvious, especially seen when Trump threatened to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and attempted to discredit climate change scientists on numerous occasions. Countries with histories of high carbon emissions and rich oil reserves, such as Saudi Arabia, are even more hesitant to invest in environmental programs.
There is an incredible amount of work to be done in reversing the negative effects of climate change, but scientists have proven that it is possible. The IPCC’s report will be presented at the UN Climate Conference in Poland in 2019,where governments will be able to voice their opinions. Hopefully, advanced industrial countries like the U.S. and China will adopt new technologies and set examples of how to take care of our planet.
If countries are willing to put technology and resources behind the fight against climate change, our generation and the ones to come will have a strong chance of reversing the damage caused by decades of industrialism.