Scientists: 12 Years to Avoid a Catastrophic Climate

Oct 15, 2018

Damage after Category 4 Hurricane Michael hits the Florida Panhandle

The world’s leading climate scientists warned last Monday there is only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of major coastal flooding, worsening droughts, food shortages and poverty, along with wildfires, hurricanes and floods more devastating than we’ve ever seen.  The report is shocking, because that’s a lot sooner than originally predicted.

From a NY Times article:

“A landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change paints a far more dire picture of the immediate consequences of climate change than previously thought and says that avoiding the damage requires transforming the world economy at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent.

The report, issued on Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040 — a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population.”

While scientists say it’s still technically possible to begin the rapid changes needed to avoid major damage, they acknowledge it’s not likely politically.  Read more from the UK Guardian HERE.