"We are on a fast track to climate disaster." UN Secretary-General António Guterres said of the latest IPCC report in a statement. He also referred to it as “a litany of broken climate promises.” And he summarised the current climate change challenge as "To keep the 1.5-degree limit agreed in Paris within reach, we need to cut global emissions by 45 percent this decade. But current climate pledges would mean a 14 percent increase in emissions."
‘A litany of broken climate promises’ indeed! The news from IPCC is as grim as expected.
Alex, thank you for breaking it down for the rest of us. Your deep experience and commitment to climate and environment for many years gives you an inside track for comprehending this lengthy report. Even so, those with even minimal understanding can see the calamitous future we face. The report was expected to be grim and it is. As you stated, we have no time to lose.
Again, the horrors of a brutal war, a pandemic, energy and economic crises kept it from front page news. It’s past time to realize the climate crisis is the most devastating thing we face and it will impact everyone.
The fictional comet of Don’t Look Up is fast approaching.
Thanks Lizzie, seeing all these crises together makes it even more sad to realize that the latest is more man-made than any of the others, just when we have no time to lose to tackle the climate crisis.
This is upsetting, of course, especially the call for more fossil fuels. :/ I'm grateful for any reason to have hope, and heartened too by Deutschland's willingness to make changes. Maybe they can set a precedent?
I hope they will, and that they set a good one this time (I wasn't too happy with their previous priorities of increasing the use of coal to get rid of nuclear)
Just looking at that first graph you shared it's difficult to understand how or rather WHY the CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are still going up ... We do have other options and it seems to be the best one to work on since the number are highest. I remember one of the guests (sorry, I'm really bad with names) on your podcast saying that we could easily move away from fossil fuels quite quickly IF it wasn't for politics.
And that's also something that gets to me when it comes to these reports (apart from everything else) - it's that if we did a Venn diagram, you'd have science/evidence on one side and then politics/interests etc. on the other and what they are actually able to put in this reports is a pretty small overlap. You explained that really well on Sunday night's podcast.
Sure it helps if we try to limit our own CO2 emissions, try to recycle etc. etc. but as long as the governments of the world back the fossil fuel industry - it's a losing battle.
I know that's what you've been saying for years. I just find it incredibly infuriating today. I probably shouldn't have started reading the report this morning.
Thank you for this summary and all the work you put into getting the message out there. Much appreciated.
Thanks Evelyne, it seems the world's governments can mobilize action for Ukraine, and even for a pandemic. But for a slower developing disaster like climate change we haven't found a way to treat this as the real crisis is actually is. Too much shared responsibility, and especially too many short term business interests
‘A litany of broken climate promises’ indeed! The news from IPCC is as grim as expected.
Alex, thank you for breaking it down for the rest of us. Your deep experience and commitment to climate and environment for many years gives you an inside track for comprehending this lengthy report. Even so, those with even minimal understanding can see the calamitous future we face. The report was expected to be grim and it is. As you stated, we have no time to lose.
Again, the horrors of a brutal war, a pandemic, energy and economic crises kept it from front page news. It’s past time to realize the climate crisis is the most devastating thing we face and it will impact everyone.
The fictional comet of Don’t Look Up is fast approaching.
Thanks Lizzie, seeing all these crises together makes it even more sad to realize that the latest is more man-made than any of the others, just when we have no time to lose to tackle the climate crisis.
Thank you, Alexander, ⏳
Thanks Marian!
This is upsetting, of course, especially the call for more fossil fuels. :/ I'm grateful for any reason to have hope, and heartened too by Deutschland's willingness to make changes. Maybe they can set a precedent?
I hope they will, and that they set a good one this time (I wasn't too happy with their previous priorities of increasing the use of coal to get rid of nuclear)
Fingers crossed!
Just looking at that first graph you shared it's difficult to understand how or rather WHY the CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are still going up ... We do have other options and it seems to be the best one to work on since the number are highest. I remember one of the guests (sorry, I'm really bad with names) on your podcast saying that we could easily move away from fossil fuels quite quickly IF it wasn't for politics.
And that's also something that gets to me when it comes to these reports (apart from everything else) - it's that if we did a Venn diagram, you'd have science/evidence on one side and then politics/interests etc. on the other and what they are actually able to put in this reports is a pretty small overlap. You explained that really well on Sunday night's podcast.
Sure it helps if we try to limit our own CO2 emissions, try to recycle etc. etc. but as long as the governments of the world back the fossil fuel industry - it's a losing battle.
I know that's what you've been saying for years. I just find it incredibly infuriating today. I probably shouldn't have started reading the report this morning.
Thank you for this summary and all the work you put into getting the message out there. Much appreciated.
Thanks Evelyne, it seems the world's governments can mobilize action for Ukraine, and even for a pandemic. But for a slower developing disaster like climate change we haven't found a way to treat this as the real crisis is actually is. Too much shared responsibility, and especially too many short term business interests