‘The worst is yet to come’

A draft report prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that unless strict and immediate action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent a rise in global temperatures, life on Earth will be doomed to catastrophic calculations.

The 4,000-page drought, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, argues that humanity may have already missed its chance to prevent the climate from crossing a series of thresholds that will further warm the planet.

“Life on Earth can recover from extreme climate change by evolving into new species and creating new ecosystems,” the report says. “People can’t do that.”

Thresholds, or feedback loops, including thawing of permafrost, which in turn releases methane into the atmosphere. This enhances the greenhouse effect, which leads to higher temperatures. Due to the melting of the polar caps and the loss of sea ice, the Earth absorbs a lot of the sun’s ultraviolet rays and heat, which further contributes to the melting of the ice.

I am not optimistic. It’s not just because of these comments, but because we’ve already put a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and that carbon dioxide lasts for a very long time, Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at the Woodwell Center for Climate Research, told Yahoo. News. . A carbon dioxide molecule stays in the atmosphere for an average of 100 years. So we haven’t yet felt the effects of the carbon dioxide we’ve already put into the atmosphere. Even without thinking about the feedback, we’ve already built a lot of climate change into the system just because the climate system is taking some time to adapt to this new level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. All comments that [happens is] Just make that reaction bigger than the situation would be.”

Since the pre-industrial era, the temperature on Earth has increased by 1.1°C. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its landmark 2018 report, warned of: The dangerous impacts that humanity must fail to keep the global average temperature above 1.5°C. But most climate scientists now believe it would be nearly impossible to reach that goal, given the rate at which emissions continue to rise.

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The draft report, which is being prepared ahead of the November meeting of world leaders at the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, also warns that a warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius will force people to adapt in ways unimaginable several decades ago. .

The report states that “even with a temperature increase of 1.5°C, conditions will change beyond the ability of many organisms to adapt. Current levels of adaptation will not be sufficient to respond to future climate risks.”

The cost of adapting to this new reality will be prohibitive, particularly in parts of the world where resources are already scarce.

“The costs of adaptation in Africa are expected to increase by tens of billions of dollars annually as temperatures rise above 2 degrees,” the report said.

At another tipping point, the Amazon rainforest basin, where plants absorb carbon dioxide and help prevent warming, could soon turn into a savannah, according to the report.

The report also notes that coasts around the world that are already experiencing sea level rise will face uninhabitable conditions as tropical cyclones continue to increase. These heat waves are sweeping across the western United States, and the wildfire seasons that continue to set records around the world will only get worse over time.

“The worst is yet to come and it affects the lives of our children and grandchildren far more than it affects our lives,” the report said.

The report warns that the chance of avoiding catastrophic consequences is fast approaching.

“We need a transformative change that works on processes and behavior at all levels: individuals, communities, companies, organizations, and governments,” he says, adding, “We need to redefine the way we live and consume.”

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