There is a pressing need for “unprecedented” collective actions to be taken by all countries to drastically reduce their carbon emissions over the next decade to save the world according to a report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on climate change(IPCC) released on Monday, 8th of October, 2018.
The report warns that we have 12 years to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5C, anything above this, even a half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of disasters such as drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people. The authors of the report, say urgent and unprecedented changes are needed to reach the target, which they say is affordable and feasible although it lies at the most ambitious end of the Paris agreement pledge to keep temperatures between 1.5C and 2C. The half-degree difference could also prevent corals from being completely eradicated and ease pressure on the Arctic, according to the 1.5C study.
But with global emissions showing very few signs of slowing down and the USA under Trump administration repealing the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of President Obama’s fight against climate change, the chances of meeting the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement seem slim. To avoid a warming over 1.5C over preindustrial levels would require a radical transformation of human civilization at a magnitude that has never happened before, the group found.
The world Carbon dioxide emissions is about 40 billion tons per year, with 40.83 billion tons recorded in 2016. With China and USA being the top emitters, 10.51 and 5.31 billion tons respectively.
What does this increase in warming mean for the human population? There are extensive and damaging effects to the environment and ultimately to mankind; this warming is affecting the earth’s climate system including its Oceans, Lands, atmosphere in far-reaching ways;
- More frequent and severe weather
- Dirtier air
- Wildlife extinction
- Higher sea levels
- Threatened Ecosystems
- More acidic oceans and ultimately;
- Higher death rates
"Humans are at the centre of global climate change" – #IPCCReport.
To limit #climatechange, we urgently need to do things differently. These are just some areas for #behaviourchange highlighted in the report. pic.twitter.com/25mU9NHCcU— UCL Behaviour Change (@UCLBehaveChange) October 8, 2018
How can this be avoided?
To avoid global warming getting any higher and reaching the dreaded levels, changes would have to be made not only on global and national levels but also on individual levels.
The percentage of electricity gotten from renewable sources such as Solar and Wind power would have to increase from the current 24% to about 50-60%.
Transportation vehicles, also would need to be shifting strongly toward being electrified, powered by renewable energy sources. At present, transportation is reported to be behind the power sector in the shift to low-carbon fuel sources. Only 4 % of road transportation is powered by renewable fuels, and the IPCC has projected only a 1% increase by 2022.
Coal and gas plants still in operation would need to be equipped with technologies, called carbon capture and storage (CCS), that prevent them from emitting carbon dioxide into the air instead funneling it to be buried underground. By 2050, most coal plants would have to shut down.
The Guardian reports that; Johan Rockström, a co-author of the recent Hothouse Earth report, said “Climate change is occurring earlier and more rapidly than expected. Even at the current level of 1C warming, it is painful. “This report is really important. It has a scientific robustness that shows 1.5C is not just a political concession. There is a growing recognition that 2C is dangerous.”