{"id":7340,"date":"2023-10-24T21:04:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T21:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/course.fossdle.org\/baccc\/?page_id=7340"},"modified":"2023-10-24T21:04:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T21:04:34","slug":"communicating-the-urgency-of-the-climate-emergency-part-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/course.fossdle.org\/baccc\/modules\/module-2-impacts-and-consequences-of-climate-change\/communicating-the-urgency-of-the-climate-emergency-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Communicating the Urgency of the Climate Emergency – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

What everyone should know about the climate emergency and how urgent it is<\/span><\/h2>\n

Climate change creates vicious circles<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

Climate change exacerbates other issues \u2013 and is exacerbated by other issues. To exacerbate means to make a problem or bad situation worse. So, not only do the impacts of climate change make other problems worse, but those problems also make climate change worse.\n<\/p>\n

For example, the impacts of climate change on drought in already politically unstable agricultural regions of the world have exacerbated the refugee crisis. And those conflicts can then exacerbate climate change if forest ecosystems (important carbon sinks) are damaged or destroyed.\n<\/p>\n

Here is another example: Ground-level ozone, also called tropospheric ozone (and often called smog = smoke + fog), forms in the atmosphere when gases emitted from smokestacks and tailpipes mix in the air. Climate change creates conditions, including heat and stagnant air, that increase the risk of unhealthy ozone levels. (Ground-level ozone is damaging to human health and crop health.) Then, in a vicious circle, ozone absorbs radiation and consequently acts as a strong greenhouse gas. Tropospheric ozone affects the climate beyond increased warming, having impacts on evaporation rates, cloud formation, precipitation levels and atmospheric circulation. This is illustrated at the following link:\n<\/p>\n

“Tropospheric Ozone<\/a>“[1]<\/a><\/sup>\n<\/p>\n

The multiplier effect or threat multiplier<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

People need to understand that climate change is not just a bunch of bad weather. Security experts say the hardships caused by climate change can increase the risk of political instability and terrorism. The United States Department of Defence calls climate change a \u201cthreat multiplier.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, says,\n<\/p>\n

Climate change is not the source of all ills, but it has a multiplier effect and is an aggravating factor for instability, conflict and terrorism. We must address these challenges in an integrated manner and create a virtuous circle of peace, resilience and sustainable development.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"activity\"\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Activity<\/h2>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Investigate or figure out another example of climate change as a vicious circle and another example of climate change as a threat multiplier. Write them in your learning journal.\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\nThe intergovernmental panel on climate change is conservative<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

The urgency of the climate emergency cannot be overstated. According to the IPCC, the world\u2019s leading authority on climate science (because it brings together the research of thousands of scientists every six years or so), human-caused greenhouse gas emissions have already caused global temperatures to rise by approximately 1.1\u00b0C since pre-industrial times. Because carbon dioxide (a by-product of burning almost anything) remains in the atmosphere for a hundred years or (much) longer once it is added, the global average temperature will keep rising. We must turn off the \u201ctap\u201d and stop pumping the \u201cpump\u201d that keeps CO2 flowing into the atmosphere.\n<\/p>\n

But here is the thing: The IPCC is a very conservative body. That is because after it considers and collates the scientific research, government policymakers (the \u201cintergovernmental\u201d part of its name) have to approve of every word in the IPCC reports (except for its technical reports). What the public ends up seeing is the most conservative possible interpretation of the scientific findings. So, when scientists and policymakers start saying things like \u201cclimate change threatens our existence on this planet,\u201d we know it is time to calmly panic and get \u201call hands on deck.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

If we stay on our current path we risk a sharp rise in global temperatures this century. This will have enormous negative consequences for humanity and threaten our existence on this planet. We need an immediate and urgent change in trajectory. Meeting it is absolutely necessary to the health, safety and security of everyone on this planet \u2013 in both the short and long term.
\n\u2014 UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa\n<\/p>\n

It is now unequivocal that human influence is causing climate change, making extreme events more frequent and more severe. Global warming of 1.5\u00b0C and 2\u00b0C will be exceeded during this century unless immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, especially of carbon dioxide and methane, occur in the nearest future.
\nThe latest IPCC Report reflects the magnitude of the collective challenge for all nations on this planet. Science shows that changes in the climate are widespread, rapid and becoming more intense and affecting every part of the world.
\n\u2014 Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC\n<\/p>\n

The fossil fuel industry has known for decades<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

Many books and papers have now shown that the big oil companies were told by their own scientists in the 1970s and 80s that global warming and climate change were going to become a problem if their products continued to be burned. Tragically, the \u201cgreenwashing\u201d continues to this day, when new fossil fuel projects are proposed and people are told \u201cjobs!\u201d but never told the catastrophic impacts of burning fossil fuels, not to mention the environmental degradation of the land, water and air.\n<\/p>\n

See, for example, America Misled: How the Fossil Fuel Industry Deliberately Misled America About Climate Change (Cook et al., 2019) at
\nhttps:\/\/www.climatechangecommunication.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/America_Misled.pdf<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

This is an existential emergency<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

If we continue with business as usual \u2013 burning fossil fuels because that is all we know \u2013 temperatures could rise by more than 3\u00b0C by the end of the century. Given the increasingly extreme weather impacts at 1.1\u00b0C, imagine the catastrophic consequences for human societies and the natural world at 3\u00b0C. (Honestly, there is a chance that the human species will not survive that kind of temperature rise because of its impacts on agriculture, which is the only food source for practically all 8+ billion of us. This truly is an existential emergency. And much of the rest of life is threatened, too.)\n<\/p>\n

But, but . . .<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

You may have read somewhere on social media that \u201cclimate-related deaths have decreased 98% in the last century.\u201d If you dig deeper, you will discover that there are fewer deaths because of greater development (e.g., concrete buildings) and the advent of disaster early warning systems and forecasting systems, especially in the richer countries of the world. But the destruction is growing costlier (because there is more development to be destroyed). Climate change disasters are still increasing in number, intensity, duration and\/or frequency. Some places that could \u201cweather\u201d a disaster before are now being impacted by these new extremes. And when one factors in socio-economic factors, the aftermath of a disaster is sometimes deadlier than the event itself. This whole topic or issue goes deeper than the denier meme that climate-related deaths are down. Never believe a \u201cdenier meme\u201d before digging deeper to get to the full truth.\n<\/p>\n

It all comes down to food and water security<\/b>\n<\/p>\n

People may not be worried about an occasional 100-year flood or 100-year storm (now happening every ten years). But what we all need to worry about are the impacts of climate disruption and destabilisation on agriculture and our water sources. You see, throughout the 11,000-year history of agriculture, the atmospheric concentration level of CO2 and the global climate were quite stable . . . up until the Industrial Revolution, when the burning of fossil fuels really started to increase.\n<\/p>\n

Perhaps our technological innovations can keep up, but parched soil cannot grow very much food. For every 1\u00b0C of increased air temperature, the potential of the air to hold moisture increases by 7% \u2013 which dries out the land a lot more while also dumping more water when it does rain.\n<\/p>\n

Also, parched soil does not absorb water very well, especially when it rains down in buckets during extreme storms. The water run-off then leads to soil erosion. And we are back to the vicious circles where we started.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"media\"\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Climate, Agriculture and the Challenges Ahead<\/h2>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Watch this video for a good sense of what is in store for us if we do not succeed in mitigating the worst impacts of climate change\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t