The Wake-Up Call You Can’t Afford to Miss

This Wake-Up Call Is Too Important To Miss (Special Report)

What You'll Discover Here:

wake-up call climate change wildfires — Photo by AP / Noah Berger

Remember last summer? There were times when it felt like the world was on fire, or drowning. We saw – or experienced – massive storms and widespread flooding, higher temperatures, drought in Cape Town and huge, devastating wildfires all over the word, including the Arctic.

An area or two being flooded or cut off by wildfires, yes, it’s horrible, but other places are OK, so the world carries on. But what happens when everywhere, all over the globe, is experiencing disaster?

The world, and our everyday lives, simply can’t continue when these extreme events happen frequently and globally.

We’ve just had a massive wake-up call from the IPCC, a group of the world’s leading climate scientists. They are appallingly blunt about our future.

We will simply not survive if we continue as now.

This is not just about some small islands in the middle-of-nowhere drowning. It’s major cities closer to you that will be drowning too. Property values plummeting. Perhaps your home burned in wildfires, losing everything. It’s no communications. No electricity. No transport. No fuel. No crops. No food. No water.

Last summer was a small indicator of the fate that awaits us if we continue living our lives without changing. Because that’s just a glimpse of what climate change looks like.

What’s Different About This New Special Report on Climate Change?

Several things are different.

The timeline is much, much shorter than everyone thought. We have 12 years – just 12 years! – to change our ways, otherwise we will face runaway climate change that we won’t be able to stop.
Lifestyle: For the first time, this new study differs from previous approaches in that it clearly links lifestyle choices with global warming. (Which means we can all help – more below).
It’s blunt. Brutally so. This report couldn’t be written in stronger terms: we are at a tipping point on the edge of complete climate breakdown, and governments around the world are failing to prevent it. (And the report is restrained – there are no extreme messages here, just cold, hard, scientific facts).
There are significant differences between 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees of warming, and the report identifies these differences for the first time. They are huge. Here’s Why.

The Difference Between 1.5 and 2 Degrees of Warming

Right now, we have 1 degree of warming. And we can clearly see the destruction that 1 degree of warming caused last summer. When temperatures rise to 1.5 degrees of warming, it will be worse. And 2 degrees of warming will be terrifying.

Climate scientists said the change caused by just half a degree came as a revelation. “We can see there is a difference and it’s substantial”. It’s a massive wake-up call.

Sea level rise: Many cities will be flooded as well as low-lying islands. With 2 degrees of warming, there will be an additional 10cm / 4 inches of sea level rise, drowning even more land and making storms even more devastating – affecting 10 million more people and locking-in ice melt.
Coral reefs will decline by 70-90 percent with global warming of 1.5°C. They will almost ALL die out at 2ºC. Why is this a problem? No fish – marine fisheries will lose twice the amount of fish at 2C than at 1.5C. And, even more importantly, up to 80% of the oxygen you are breathing in right now comes from the ocean, not the land. Want to breathe? You need a healthy ocean with healthy coral reefs.
Water stress: the proportion of the global population exposed to water stress will double if temperatures go from 1.5 to 2C.
Arctic ice: polar ice helps to regulate temperature. Without it, we face increasingly high temperatures, leading to more heat-related deaths, more drought and more wildfires.
Nature: Insects, which are vital for pollination of crops, and plants are almost twice as likely to lose half their habitat at 2C compared with 1.5C. We need pollinated crops for food.

The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees of warming is significant. We haven’t known this before. Nor did we realise how little time we have. Time and carbon budgets are running out.

Currently, we’re on track to have 3 degrees of warming. That will be totally catastrophic.

That half a degree is everything. For many around the world, preventing climate catastrophe and temperature rises exceeding 1.5C is a matter of life and death.

Is It Possible to Slow Climate Change?

Yes. We know how to do it, and we have the technology. We have to stop using fossil fuels, and we have to keep what’s currently in the ground, in the ground. No more exploration or drilling or fracking. None.

But will we?

Why Aren’t We Acting on Climate Change?

The lobbying power of fossil fuel businesses is massive. Fossil fuels are very profitable, and some of those huge profits are used to lobby politicians worldwide. Plus, fossil-fuel-funded groups deny or downplay the risks of fossil-fuel-caused climate change – and the media (often owned by those who profit from fossil fuels) are happy to publicise their misinformation.

We’re also continually told that we need the economy to keep growing for our well-being. But on a finite planet, growth will destroy our well-being. We need to focus on well-being as our goal, not growth.

And that needs political will.

Will Governments Do What’s Needed?

There is a growing gap between what scientists are urging and what politicians are willing to do.

The US – the world’s biggest source of historical emissions –wants to pull out of the Paris agreement, Brazil is supporting a climate-denying presidential candidate, and Australia’s prime minister says there is no money for “global climate conferences and all that nonsense”.

Even countries that support the Paris agreement are continuing with fossil fuels. Britain is pushing ahead with gas fracking, Norway with oil exploration in the Arctic, and the German government wants to tear down Hambach forest to dig for coal.

At the current level of commitments, we will have a disastrous 3C of warming.

But the report authors believe that the increasingly visible damage caused by climate change will shift opinion their way, because climate change at even 1C is painful, as last summer showed us. And as we’ll possibly see this winter.

Ultimately, politicians will face a difficult choice:

Persuade their voters that the revolutionary change outlined in the report is urgently needed, and embrace the opportunities to create a fairer, healthier, safer society that comes with the economic overhaul we need.
Ignore it and say the scientists have got it wrong. Continue with business-as-usual policies and watch as floods and heatwaves become the norm.

We are fast approaching irreversible tipping points. Governments need to listen. 2018 is a critical year for our planet.

Why Decisions Made Now Are Crucial

The decisions taken by political leaders now are crucial, because the investment cycle for power plants and transport systems is at least 10 years.

If we continue to build infrastructure based on fossil fuels, we will continue to burn up carbon for decades to come if it is not re-engineered. Plans to expand airports, improve roads, build new oil and gas pipelines all lock us into fossil fuels. Investment in electric public transport, energy-efficient homes and renewable energy is the right way to go.

How much will all this cost?

The long-term negative financial consequences of climate change are far, far greater than the short-term financial risks of transitioning to the Paris agreement.

The report says to limit warming to 1.5C will involve “annual average investment needs in the energy system of around $2.4 trillion” between 2016 and 2035.

Making big emissions cuts in the short term will cost money – but will be cheaper than paying for carbon dioxide removal later this century. The IPCC report also mentions that there is higher economic growth at 1.5 degrees than there is at 2C.

What Needs To Happen To Keep to 1.5C?

We need “urgent and unprecedented changes”, scientists say. There must be rapid and significant changes in four big global systems:-

energy • land use • cities • industry

Now, before you think you can’t do anything about any of these, think again! Lifestyle changes CAN make a difference! Climate change is already affecting your life, it’s not remote. We ALL need to contribute to the massive changes that are needed to avoid runaway climate change, because everyone must be involved.

But What Can You and I Do?

The problems are so huge that climate change can seem overwhelming. But it isn’t – you can help – yes, even in those 4 big areas listed above. Here are some suggestions:-

Energy: Cutting energy demand by using less of it is a highly effective step. You also need to switch to renewable energy. If you don’t have it yet, put pressure on policymakers to make options available so that you can use renewable energy every day.

Land Use: You CAN actually control land use – by what you choose to eat, because that determines land use. Buy less meat, milk, cheese and butter. Buy local, seasonal food – and throw less of it away

Cities: choose how to move around in cities. If you don’t have access to public transport, then elect politicians who provide those options. Drive an electric car if you really need a car, but walk or cycle shorter distances.

Industry: demand low-carbon products. Buy only what you truly need, and buy quality that lasts.

Just being aware of what you eat and where it comes from, thinking about how you travel, and having a greater interest in all aspects of your daily life can impact climate.

The MOST Important Thing You Can Do

It’s true that our lifestyles impact climate change. And when enough of us work together, we CAN make a difference.

But some changes can only be made by governments, by politicians. And so the most important thing that you can do is to put pressure on your elected politicians to Act On Climate. And vote only for candidates who put climate change at the top of their agenda. Jobs and the economy will boom – but fossil fuels will kill us all.

Campaign for change!

Fight against campaigns in your region that involve fossil fuels like fracking, which shackles you to decades more fossil fuel use.
Stop airport expansions.
Push for reliable public transport.
Encourage divestment from fossil fuels.
Resist dirty energy projects and push for community-owned renewable energy schemes that benefit people, not corporations.

This is literally a fight for our lives, and the lives of our children. We all have a duty to campaign for change, and make sure governments worldwide Act on Climate.

The Benefits of Avoiding Catastrophic Climate Change

It is a truly magnificent coincidence that what’s good for you, is also good for the planet!

Reducing meat and eating more plant-based food is great for your health, as is walking or biking more or taking public transport. And they help reduce your carbon emissions, which is great for the health of the planet. You’ll breathe cleaner air, there’ll be less pollution, and your water will be safe to drink. What’s not to love?

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What do you think – will we limit warming to 1.5? Let me know in the comments below.