Governance
3 Things to Know About Climate Change Hurting Earth’s Inhabitants, and How to Deal With It By Isabella Isaacs-Thomas
RISING TEMPERATURES around the globe are increasingly killing humans and trees, have forced half of all species on the planet to relocate, caused more water-borne and respiratory illnesses in people and threatened food and water security for millions, says a major new climate report released Monday, February 28th by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate change is actively harming humanity and all other life on the planet, our long-term fates inextricably linked. The report details exactly how we are being hurt — and contributing to that hurt. It stresses that the long-term survivability of our planet depends on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reshaping human society with sustainability in mind, both key to addressing the consequences of a warming planet. “Half measures are no longer an option,” IPCC chair Hoesung Lee said in a statement Monday. The IPCC, which is made up of an international assembly of top scientists, issues major reports like these every five to seven years. A report published in August detailed the science behind global warming, and the link to human activity. These latest findings – the second report in a series of three – focus on the global impacts of climate change on people and nature, which will vary based on the level of warming reached in coming decades. It also addresses adaptation options that can help ensure that the planet remains liveable for generations to come. “This report recognizes the interdependence of climate, biodiversity and people and integrates natural, social and economic sciences more strongly than earlier IPCC assessments,” Lee said. Some of the major takeaways include: • A direct link to climate change. An increasing number of specific events— from coral reef dieoffs to land scorched by wildfire to heat-related human deaths — can now be directly attributed
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to climate change. That trend is consistent with recent advancements in attribution science, which allows researchers to connect isolated incidents to the broader phenomenon of global warming.
• Harm to mental health. Climate change’s impacts on human health are wide-ranging. The report details various mental health effects, like for those who experience or even displaced by extreme weather events like wildfires, or among people whose access to food is threatened, said report co-author Sherilee Harper, associate Firefighters w professor the the University of Alberta’s many weathe resulting if hu School of Public Health. Even a deluge of media coverage about climate change and the way those consequences will worsen over time is affecting our mental wellbeing. • Threats to health and health care systems. Extreme heat events pose a significant threat to all life, and have already caused loss of human life across the globe. More exposure to wildfire smoke and other atmospheric irritants are associated with cardiovascular and respiratory distress. And these weather events, from wildfires to extreme flooding, also pose a threat to crucial health care systems needed to address the impact on individuals and communities. “Today’s IPCC report is an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership,” UN Secretary-General António Gutteres said in a statement Monday. He added that the globe’s biggest polluters — which includes highly developed and industrialized nations like the United States — “are guilty of arson.” In order to limit global temperature rise to just 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels — a goal long agreed upon by the international community DAWN
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