August 09, 2021"Information
Clearing House" - "Common
Dreams" -Climate activists didn't need
yet another report to tell them that continued
inaction in the face of a ccelerating global warming
would be catastrophic—the
evidence is
plain for all to
see.
But the Monday release of a U.N. panel's
detailed assessment of the latest science
offered a fresh opportunity for climate campaigners
to ramp up pressure on world governments to
completely end their reliance on and devotion to
fossil fuels before it's too late. According to the
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that
moment is fast approaching.
The new IPCC report contains no real surprises,"
said Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg,
who in 2018 kicked off the worldwide
Fridays for Future movement. "It confirms what
we already know from thousands previous studies and
reports—that we are in an emergency."
"It is up to us to be brave and take decisions
based on the scientific evidence provided in these
reports," Thunberg added. "We can still avoid the
worst consequences, but not if we continue like
today, and not without treating the crisis like a
crisis."
Compiled by a team of more than 200 scientists,
the IPCC
report offers a dire analysis of the impacts
that humanity's persistent burning of fossils fuels
have had on the climate, which is warming at a rate
not seen in at least 2,000 years, leading to ever
more intense extreme weather events such as
devastating wildfires, flooding, and drought.
The panel made clear that some of the most
devastating consequences of human-caused global
warming—specifically the melting of ice sheets and
rising sea levels—are now irreversible.
However, the group of leading scientists
emphasized that there is still a window for
effective action—albeit a rapidly closing one.
"Strong and sustained reductions in emissions of
carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases
would limit climate change," the report notes.
"Human actions still have the potential to determine
the future course of climate."
Such a conclusion is hardly novel to
environmentalists who, for decades, have been
vocally demanding that policymakers take steps to
dramatically slash greenhouse gas emissions and
urgently move to a sustainable renewable energy
system.
No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is
Independent Media
Kaisa Kosonen, senior political adviser at
Greenpeace Nordic, said in a
statement Monday that the unveiling of the IPCC
report marks "a decisive moment for humanity."
"With solar and wind now the cheapest way to
produce new power in the majority of the world,
mobility freed from oil, and finance dwindling for
coal, a world free of fossil fuels is becoming
possible," said Kosonen, who
told The Guardian that Greenpeace
intends to use the IPCC analysis as evidence in
lawsuits against governments and corporations that
continue to obstruct necessary change.
"This is the moment to rise up, be bold, and
think big," Kosonen added. "We all need to
accelerate the green transition while ensuring
justice and protection for local communities and
people paying the highest cost for climate
inaction."
The youth-led Sunrise Movement, whose grassroots
advocacy work helped push the vision of a
Green New Deal to the national stage in the
United States, said in a
statement Monday that the IPCC report is
"apocalyptic, catastrophic, and nothing we haven't
been screaming from the rooftops for years."
"We're already living it," said Varshini Prakash,
Sunrise's executive director. "Fires are burning
forests the size of U.S. states. Buildings are
collapsing into the sea. Power is getting shut off
as hundreds die from heat waves. And that's all from
the last few months alone. What more do our
politicians need to realize the climate crisis is
here and they're not doing enough?"
"In the coming months, [U.S. President Joe] Biden
and Congress have the chance to pass historic
legislation that could begin the decade of the Green
New Deal," Prakash continued. "The IPCC report is
clear—the stakes are high and we're running out of
time. Anything less than delivering the full scope
of climate action in reconciliation is ignoring
science, ignoring the IPCC report, and failing our
generation."
The IPCC's latest report dropped just weeks ahead
of the November COP26 conference in Glasgow, which
climate advocates believe is a
make-or-break chance for world leaders to bring
their badly inadequate climate commitments into line
with the deeply alarming scientific evidence.
"This cannot be another lost opportunity,"
said Dr. Rachel Cleetus, policy director and
lead economist for the Climate and Energy Program at
Union of Concerned Scientists. "Richer nations—whose
emissions are the predominant cause of global
warming impacts being experienced around the
world—must take responsibility for making rapid and
deep emissions cuts and provide financial support so
developing countries can make a low-carbon
transition too."
"It's way past time for policymakers to translate
this stark warning into action," Cleetus added.
According to the IPCC analysis, the central
objective of the 2015 Paris climate accord—limiting
global warming to 1.5°C in this century—will soon
"be beyond reach" unless "there are immediate,
rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions."
The only way to achieve such massive reductions,
climate campaigners and experts said Monday, is to
quickly stop burning fossil fuels and begin a just
transition to renewable energy—a move that
proponents argue would
create millions of jobs and
save tens of millions of lives.
But since the Paris Agreement was finalized in
2015, wealthy nations have continued to pour funds
into the polluting oil and gas industry while
falling short of their emissions targets. According
to one
recent analysis, G20 nations have provided $3.3
trillion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry
since 2015.
"Today's report shows that we must urgently phase
out fossil fuels, provide workers with green and
sustainable jobs, and deliver financial support for
impacted communities as a top priority," the
advocacy group 350.org said in a
statement responding to the IPCC findings. "As
governments prepare to meet in Glasgow for the COP26
climate talks, they need to recognize that no
climate plan that does not include phasing out
fossil fuels is a real climate plan."
Registration is necessary to post comments.
We ask only that you do not use obscene or offensive
language. Please be respectful of others.