Authored by: Dorothy Barnett, Executive Director
27, 24 and 19. Those are the ages my three grandkids will be in 2040, when, according to more than 200 of the world’s leading climate scientists, we will pass the average 1.5°C temperature rise. It’s possible that if we take strong climate action now, we will only hit 1.5°C temporarily, instead of the 3°C scientists now project based on our current trajectory.
2040 is a full decade earlier than the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report predicted. The Sixth Assessment, released this week, synthesizes the best available climate science information from more than 14,000 studies.
To protect our children and grandchildren, we must act now as each 0.5°C of global warming worsens extreme climate events.
This report provides the most up to date physical understanding we have of the climate system and climate change. Next year, we’ll see in depth IPCC reports that assess how people and our ecosystem will be impacted and what approaches we should use to adapt to the changes we’re already experiencing along with strategies to help us mitigate further change.
So what do we know?
Our planet is warming at an unprecedented rate, faster than previously thought and people are “unequivocally” the primary cause. This comes as no surprise to many of us. With just over 1°C of warming since 1880, human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe (including right here at home). Compared to today, a warming of 1.5°C will likely result in intensifying and more frequent heat waves, heavier rainfall and flooding, more severe droughts and more powerful storms.
Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during this century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades.
How do we get there?
Despite the crisis we are facing, there are solutions. According to the International Energy Association (IEA) we need massive deployment of all available clean energy technologies – such as renewables, electric vehicles and energy efficient building retrofits – between now and 2030. We need to see huge declines in the use of coal, oil and gas. This requires steps such as halting sales of new internal combustion engine passenger cars by 2035, and phasing out all unabated coal and oil power plants by 2040.
My biggest take-away
It’s not too late. Congress has a chance to address the threat and protect our families and our economy from a future filled with climate disasters. In a new opinion piece posted in Newsweek over the weekend, my colleagues and I tell Congress, it’s time for climate action on a scale equal to the challenge we face. Based on the fires and floods we’ve seen over the last few months, anything less would be unconscionable.
Here at home, CEP has created a Kansas Climate CORE – Community Organizing for Resilience + Equity, join us and support us as we work together and take action on climate.
Download the full IPCC report on their website.
