The climate crisis is humanity’s greatest existential threat, and we need to treat it as such. It refers to the change in climate and global warming and the consequences, which is worsening at a faster rate than visualised.
Global air temperatures near the Earth's surface have gone up about 2°C in the last century. The past five years have been the warmest five years in centuries. 1.5-2°C may not seem like much. However, this change can have huge impacts on the health of the Earth's inhabitants.
The climate is naturally variable. Extra greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are the main reason that Earth is getting warmer. Greenhouse gases, such as CO2 and methane, trap the Sun's heat in the Earth's atmosphere. It is hence important that we monitor CO2 levels.
The change in the global surface temperature between 1850 and the end of the 21st century is likely to exceed 1.5°C. If we are to keep global temperature rise to below 1.5°C, as compared to preindustrial levels; the man-made greenhouse gas emissions need to drop by at least 50% by 2030 according to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
Rising temperatures are fueling environmental degradation, natural disasters, weather extremes, food and water insecurity, economic disruption, conflict, and terrorism. Sea levels are rising, the Arctic is melting, coral reefs are dying, oceans are acidifying, and forests are burning. There is an evident change.
We are told that this crisis is incontestable, but it is not too late to curb the flow. This will require all aspects of society to have fundamental changes, from our ways of cultivating food to how we power our economies. Countries, businesses, states and cities have yet to make the deep, structural economic and societal shifts that are required.
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