“We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”
Human-induced climate change has caused ‘unprecedented’ and ‘irreversible’ damage to the environment, scientists warn.
According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, humans are “unequivocally” responsible for the rapid changes in the climate, including sea level rises, melting polar ice and glaciers, heatwaves, floods and droughts.
Moreover, if the world continues on its current trajectory, temperatures will cross the 1.5 C limit (goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement) in the 2030s, which is sooner than previously predicted.
This is IPCC’s most comprehensive assessment to date, drawing on more than 14,000 scientific studies. It was prepared by 234 scientists from 65 countries and took eight years to complete.
It says that humans’ rampant consumption and greenhouse emissions have already pushed the average global temperature up 1.1C since the 19th century.
The numbers are reaching their highest in over 100,000 years, and the effects are evident with wildfires ravaging Greece and Turkey, deadly floods wreaking havoc in China and Germany, heatwaves baking the United States and other adverse weather events across the world.
‘Ecosystems deteriorating more rapidly than ever’
UN’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) chair Robert Watson said: “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever.
“We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”
Moreover, some cascading effects of global warming have already been locked in. For example, rapidly eroding ice sheets, rising sea levels and changes in the oceans as they lose oxygen and become more acidic are some “irreversible” changes that will stay on for centuries to come.
Limiting rising temperatures is urgent because, in the report’s worst-case scenario, the world could be around 3.3 °C hotter than now by the end of the century. Also, seas could rise up to 2m by the end of this century and up to 5m by 2150.
Need to ‘slow down those changes’
According to the report, we only stand a chance if world leaders commit to a shared global target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal, oil, and gas and preserve the earth’s natural carbon sinks—oceans, forests, soils, and permafrost. Moreover, economies will have to quickly transition themselves toward renewable energy sources like solar and wind, and energy conservation.
IPCC co-author Tamsin Edwards is a climate scientist at King’s College London. He said: “We are now committed to some aspects of climate change, some of which are irreversible for hundreds to thousands of years.
“But the more we limit warming, the more we can avoid or slow down those changes.”
Report co-author Claudia Tebaldi, a scientist at the U.S. Pacific Northwest National Lab said: “Anything we can do to limit, to slow down, is going to pay off.
“And if we cannot get to 1.5, it’s probably going to be painful, but it’s better not to give up.”
COP26
The UN report comes just three months before the Glasgow 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, aka COP26 in November where leaders from197 countries will convene to discuss steps to limit climate change and its effects.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the report a “code red for humanity”.
“The alarm bells are deafening,” he said in a statement.
“This report must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy our planet.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it a ‘wake-up call’ and said: “We know what must be done to limit global warming – consign coal to history and shift to clean energy sources, protect nature and provide climate finance for countries on the frontline.”
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Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
Gordon Ramsay Ditches Vegan Hate and Backs Flora’s Plant-Based Butter in New ‘Skip the Cow’ Campaign
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 28th January 2025
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, once infamous for his digs at vegans, has taken a sharp turn in the kitchen. Ramsay has teamed up with Flora, the famous UK-based spread brand, as its global ambassador, marking a bold new chapter in Flora’s “Skip the Cow” campaign. Flora, established in 1964, has long been a household name …
The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 27th January 2025
Latin America is experiencing an extraordinary rise in plant-based dining options. A new study, spearheaded by Veganuary in partnership with the food discovery platform HappyCow, reveals that Latin America now boasts over 10,000 vegan, vegetarian, and vegan-friendly restaurants—an impressive 21.6% jump compared to last year. Brazil takes the crown as the number one country, with …
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VEGAN MEMES
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All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. [wpViralQuiz id=27203]
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. [wpViralQuiz id=33494]
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. [wpViralQuiz id=31281] Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God