Key points on the climate emergency

Human activity is changing the climate.
The situation is already serious and it is becoming catastrophic.
The solution is clear: urgent radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions - but action by governments and wider society has been worse than inadequate.
Citizens must become involved in the decision making.

Human activity is changing the climate

Climate change is happening now
Read more at document 51.

Climate change is man-made
Read more at document 52.

The situation is already serious and it is becoming catastrophic

Due to climate change, we already have
This is from 1.1° of global warming - and without effective action, we are heading for 6° of global warming and the breakdown of civilisation.

The solution is clear: urgent, radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions - but action by governments and wider society has been worse than inadequate

Immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are needed
The AR6 report was released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in August 2021. Some key points from the IPCC are
Read more at document 54.

The solutions are simple and should have been implemented already
We already know what to do:

But there has been denial and poor decision making throughout society
The threat from climate change has been known for decades. International agreements have been made but they have been inadequate and compliance with them has been poor.
The problems include
António Guterres (Secretary-General of the United Nations) has said (document 136)
The inadequate decision making is leading to escalating discontent and protests.

Many citizens feel an obligation to act

António Guterres (Secretary-General of the United Nations) has said (document 136)
We owe a debt to young people, civil society and indigenous communities for sounding the alarm and holding leaders accountable. We need to build on their work to create a grassroots movement that cannot be ignored.

Citizens who care about the world should




Appendix: mortality from climate change

Two studies have estimated how many climate related deaths will happen as a result of CO2 emitted. Both estimates were around one climate death for each 4,000 tonnes CO2 emitted.

References
[1]The mortality cost of carbon (2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24487-w
[2]Three Americans create enough carbon emissions to kill one person, study finds (2021) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/29/carbon-emissions-americans-social-cost
[3]The Human Cost of Anthropogenic Global Warming: Semi-Quantitative Prediction and the 1,000-Tonne Rule (2019) https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02323/full


First published: Feb 2019
Last updated: 19 Jan 2023