Carbon emissions, global warming and the future

“Our economic system and our planetary system are now at war. Or, more accurately, our economy is at war with many forms of life on earth; including human life.

What the climate needs to avoid collapse is a contraction in humanity’s use of resources; what our economic model demands to avoid collapse is unfettered expansion.

Only one of these sets of rules can be changed, and it’s not the laws of nature.” -Naomi Klein.

These sentiments, laid out by Canadian social activist and political analyst Naomi Klein in her book ‘This Changes Everything’, rings as true as ever with the release of the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

The UN body maintains that there is a window of 12 years to keep world temperatures from rising above 1.5°c on pre-industrial times.

The consequences for failing to prevent such an increase in global temperatures would be disastrous. To begin with: The majority of warm water coral reefs will disappear. Exceeding 1.5°c warming, sea levels will rise 70/80cm this century, causing destruction to low-lying countries of the South Pacific, and eventually, all coastal regions.

The IPCC report outlines the need for “societal transformation and the rapid implementation of ambitious greenhouse reduction measures” without which, limiting warming to 1.5°c will be “exceedingly difficult, if not impossible to achieve.”

‘’Based on current projections we are actually headed for a 3°c global rise in temperature’’, according to Environment and Science Editor at the Irish Times, Kevin O’Sullivan.

The IPCC report, which is a culmination of two years of work by 6,000 scientists, highlights the urgency of global warming and the fact that policies need to be put in place immediately.

The science is unequivocal and looks to the future: A change is required in every sector of society from how we work, live, manufacture, eat and trade, if we are to limit change in temperate to 1.5°C by 2030 and also to ensure a ‘net zero CO2 emissions’ world by 2050.

The consequences of global warming are unevenly distributed, with many poorer or developing nations already feeling the brunt of its effects. The IPCC reports that 20-40% of the global human population experienced record-breaking heat between 2006 and 2015.

In 2012, the East Horn of Africa experienced its ‘’worst drought in 60 years’’, resulting in over 17 million people becoming food insecure.

The Lake Chad River Basin in West Africa, a water source for over 70 million people, has shrunk by 98% since 1960.

The effects of global warming will be felt by every section of our world and so, in order to ensure that the 1.5°c limit is achieved within 12 years, the IPCC stipulate that we, as a collective society and government, must transform the world economy at a speed that has ‘’no documented historic precedent’’.

The alternative being extreme weather events, food shortages, wildfires, droughts, floods, a lack of biodiversity, extinction of species and severe poverty for millions of people.

The report will be the basis for a meeting of world governments in Poland this December when there will be a review of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015.

 

 

Ireland, a laggard in the fight for environmental protection

Ireland has committed to an 80% cut in its emissions. Ireland’s problematic sectors are heat, transport and agriculture.

In fact, methane is mentioned several times throughout the IPCC report for its particularly damaging effects on the atmosphere – an important statistic for Ireland since over 30% of our CO2 emissions come from the agricultural industry.

With regards to Ireland’s 2019 budget and climate change, the government failed to raise the Carbon tax- largely considered to be an effective method of deterring the use of fossil fuels.

From 2020, Ireland is likely to be hit with substantial fines for failing to meet legally binding emission reduction targets, set out in the Paris Agreement in 2015.

 

 

 

 

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