Happy Wednesday: Hidden Gems of Hope in the IPCC's Latest Climate Report
The first response by most of us to the recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is that everything is coming true. The nightmare of floods, fire, extreme heat, and drought are here…and faster than we thought.
However, as dire as it is, there were some hidden gems of hope in the report. For instance, buried on page 120 in the fifth section of the report is the following:
Deliberate removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere could reverse … some aspects of climate change. However, this will only happen … if deliberate removals are larger than emissions.
[If this is accomplished] some climate change trends, such as the increase in global surface temperature, would start to reverse within a few years. Other aspects … would take decades or centuries to reverse [but are still possible].
Yes, it is a long shot. It would take unprecedented efforts by many industrial countries that see each other more as competitors than warriors, coming together to work for the common good of the planet. However, it is possible, and as the realities of climate change become more evident, China, the U.S., and Europe may realize a tipping point has been reached. Their primary job will be working together to prevent the situation from becoming worse.
Further, Piers Forster, a very respected climate physicist from the University of Leeds (UK), says that while we are likely to witness more frequent and more extreme weather events:
There is also good news [due to advances in] science. We find that the risk of seeing abrupt changes in our climate, such as the Gulf stream stopping, [the] Antarctic ice sheet’s sudden collapse, or Amazon Forest dieback, is low and will be very unlikely if we can hold temperature rise close to 1.5 (C). [an increase of 1.5 C is about 2.7 degrees F].
Foster goes on to say:
Through improved climate projections, we precisely know the emission path the planet needs to take to hold temperatures to close to 1.5 C of warming; we need to at least halve global emissions by 2034 and reach net-zero CO2 emissions by mid-century.
Further, many of the solutions to climate change are now a reality. Green energy sources such as the widespread use of wind and solar power were little more than a pipedream 25 years ago. Today, they are a here and are helping us move away from the use of fossil fuels.
Further, while there is still a lot of money to be made in the fossil fuel industry, today the table is turning. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, new solar and wind installations undercut the cost of fossil fuels in 2019. Further, since 2010, the cost of solar panels has fallen by 82 percent, a very unexpected reality.
And one more thing, the latest IPCC report, has sparked a sense of urgency in the air. "This report must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet," said UN secretary general, António Guterres. Further, he says:
There must be no new coal plants built after 2021. Countries should also end all new fossil fuel exploration and production, and shift fossil-fuel subsidies into renewable energy. By 2030, solar and wind capacity should quadruple, and renewable energy investments should triple to maintain a net-zero trajectory by mid-century.
The bottom-line is this. There is still hope for us and future generations. We are moving forward; innovation and technology is on our side. Don't give up the ship; we can make it if we all just keep moving ahead, doing all we can to save our planet.
