I remind people that climate change is a disease, in a way it’s a bit like diabetes, it can be without symptoms, but it gets progressively worse if you don’t do anything about it. Every time the scientists get together a consolidate their view of what is happening to the climate, the picture that comes out it that it is happening faster than we thought, and the consequences are nastier than we thought. The remedy is actually straight forward we just have to stop burning fossil fuels. It really is that simple. Climate change is already in the system, we are not going to have the climate that we grew up with ever again in our lifetimes. But it will go on getting worse and worse, and become unmanageable, and eventually unlivable, and so the challenge and the urgency is to stop that process now before we cross that boundary, which governments used to put at 2 degrees global average temperature rise, when things will start to become unmanageable very quickly.
Tom Burke 2nd Oct 2018 read more »
Dutch scientist Dr Heleen de Coninck is one of the co-ordinating lead authors of the forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on 1.5C which will be released next Monday in South Korea. Speaking to the BBC before the start of the negotiations in Incheon, she explained what her role involves and why, despite the enormous climate challenge facing the world, she believes there are some hopeful signs. We’re seeing some countries making serious plans to be consistent with 1.5C, we are seeing costs of renewable energies drop. Many people are adopting low-emission lifestyles, and for instance don’t fly anymore. Even the costs of some negative emission technologies are dropping so we are seeing some hopeful signs. The IPCC also tries to be more solution-oriented rather than only flagging and analysing problems. There’s really good reasons to really start working now! I’m not sure about optimism, but I think that losing hope is never a good idea.
BBC 3rd Oct 2018 read more »