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https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biae087/7808595>
"We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster. This is a global
emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is
imperiled. We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the
climate crisis. For many years, scientists, including a group of more than
15,000, have sounded the alarm about the impending dangers of climate change
driven by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem change (
Ripple et
al. 2020). For half a century, global warming has been correctly predicted
even before it was observed—and not only by independent academic scientists but
also by fossil fuel companies (
Supran et al. 2023). Despite these warnings,
we are still moving in the wrong direction; fossil fuel emissions have
increased to an all-time high, the 3 hottest days ever occurred in July of 2024
(
Guterres 2024), and current policies have us on track for approximately 2.7
degrees Celsius (°C) peak warming by 2100 (
UNEP 2023). Tragically, we are
failing to avoid serious impacts, and we can now only hope to limit the extent
of the damage. We are witnessing the grim reality of the forecasts as climate
impacts escalate, bringing forth scenes of unprecedented disasters around the
world and human and nonhuman suffering. We find ourselves amid an abrupt
climate upheaval, a dire situation never before encountered in the annals of
human existence. We have now brought the planet into climatic conditions never
witnessed by us or our prehistoric relatives within our genus,
Homo
(supplemental figure S1;
CenCO2PIP Consortium et al. 2023).
Last year, we witnessed record-breaking sea surface temperatures (
Cheng et al.
2024), the hottest Northern Hemisphere extratropical summer in 2000 years
(
Esper et al. 2024), and the breaking of many other climate records (
Ripple
et al. 2023a). Moreover, we will see much more extreme weather in the coming
years (
Masson-Delmotte et al. 2021). Human-caused carbon dioxide emissions
and other greenhouse gases are the primary drivers of climate change. As of
2022, global fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes account for
approximately 90% of these emissions, whereas land-use change, primarily
deforestation, accounts for approximately 10% (supplemental figure S2).
Our aim in the present article is to communicate directly to researchers,
policymakers, and the public. As scientists and academics, we feel it is our
moral duty and that of our institutions to alert humanity to the growing
threats that we face as clearly as possible and to show leadership in
addressing them. In this report, we analyze the latest trends in a wide array
of planetary vital signs. We also review notable recent climate-related
disasters, spotlight important climate-related topics, and discuss needed
policy interventions. This report is part of our series of concise annual
updates on the state of the climate."
Via Sheila Nagig, who wrote “I feel bad for them. They’ve been raising the
alarm for decades, and nobody has been listening.”
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
