General

How much time is left before the onset of the climate apocalypse?

I do not want to scare anyone with gloomy forecastsregarding our future, however, thinking about what exactly awaits us will not hurt. Today, almost everyone on the planet is aware of environmental issues, which become more and more every year. However, not everyone understands what threat is actually climate change. Perhaps some of you remember the news that humanity is 12 years old to prevent the climate apocalypse. According to some experts, we have not had 18 months. In other words, we are doomed without five minutes. Is everything really so bad?

Climate change is more serious than previously thought

Content

  • 1 Apocalypse outside the window
  • 2 What will happen in the next 18 months?
  • 3 Can climate change be stopped?
  • 4 Planet Earth will be destroyed?

Apocalypse outside the window

Last week in the world famous editionThe New Yorker published an article by Jonathan Franzen. The writer and journalist believes that it’s time for you and me to stop playing the fool and admit the inevitable — we cannot stop climate change. According to Franzen, we all should concentrate on what good each of us can do today, since a great bright future may never come.

Needless to say, Franzen’s articlestirred up the public. Well-known climatologist Kate Marvel wrote a response article in the equally respected publication Scientific American, in which she argued that there is still time and not everything is lost. According to Marvel, we simply have no right to give up. But which of them is right, and why not only Jonathan Franzen believes that we are doomed?

Pictured journalist Jonathan Frazier

To understand this, let's look at the report,represented by an intergovernmental panel on climate change under the auspices of the United Nations (UN). According to the report, in order to maintain global temperature growth below 1.5 degrees Celsius, in the current century, carbon dioxide emissions on the planet should be reduced by 45% by 2030. And this is only 11 years later.

However, in 2017, one of the leading climatologistsPeace Hans Joachim Schölnhuber, founder and now honorary director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate, said that the deadline was by no means 2030. We must significantly reduce the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere by 2020. And he is not far off. According to the scientist, we are capable of delivering a mortal blow to the planet in 18 months. It will be impossible to recover from the consequences.

What will happen in the next 18 months?

Until the end of 2020, UN government groupsmust come together to discuss urgent action on climate change. Recall that in 2015, many world leaders signed the Paris Agreement, according to which all participating countries should significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Read more about the future of our planet on our channel in Yandex.Zen.

Today, experts recognize that decisivepolitical steps to reduce emissions should be taken before the end of next year. The first serious step should be a special climate summit convened by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, which will be held in New York on September 23. Guterres clearly made clear that the summit should be attended by representatives of only those countries that are able to make substantial proposals to improve their plans to reduce carbon emissions. This will be followed by a summit in Santiago, Chile.

Climate activist Greta Tunberg during a speech at the Ted Talks in Stockholm

Similar steps taken by world leadersgive us all hope for a brighter future. Indeed, not only our future depends on these decisions, but also the life of all future generations. The opinion of the public on this matter is also important - not so long ago a series of rallies swept across Europe, which were organized by teenagers, probably inspired by the climatic activism of young Greta Tunberg. In the end, some countries, such as Great Britain, have already adopted a number of legislative measures aimed at reducing air emissions.

Can climate change be stopped?

However, despite the positive changes, the reasonsyou and I still have plenty to worry about. The US intentions to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the inaction of the leaders of Russia, China and Brazil put the future of all planets at risk. Today we have reached a point where any step of each individual state can become decisive. Obviously, not all world leaders understand this.

Photo from the 2018 UN Climate Summit

You and I can only hope that duringUN summit on September 26, the UN Secretary General will be able to convince doubting leaders to put their financial and geopolitical interests in the background. If we do not take significant action in the next 18 months, many experts predict a very bleak future for our planet.

Earlier this year, serious excitement among the chaptersStates caused a study on the mass extinction of species in their natural habitat. The cause of death of animals is human action. The IPBES report showed that up to a million animal species could be lost in the coming decades.

Will planet Earth be destroyed?

It is hard to say. Therefore, the opinions of experts differ. It seems to me that none of us should give up and for our part should do everything in his power to combat climate change - consume less red meat, not waste water and other resources, make less purchases. It is our reckless consumption that causes the work of a huge number of factories that produce such a large amount of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere.

At the same time, I am forced to admit that inAt the moment, I agree with the opinion of The New Yorker journalist - most likely, we will not be in time and will not be able to prevent climate change. I will be very glad if someone can convince me.

And what do you think is waiting for our civilization in 20-30 years? Let's talk about this with the participants in our Telegram chat.