
“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.”
Share this story: Climate crisis ‘unequivocally’ caused by humans, UN report says.
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Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
Puma ditches kangaroo leather for ‘better’ vegan fabric
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 3rd March 2023
Puma’s King soccer boots are made with vegan K-Better, a new animal-free upper material. Puma SE is officially phasing kangaroo leather out of its soccer boots this year. Instead, it will begin using a vegan fabric following rising consumer opposition to animal-made products. The German sporting goods company has redesigned its legendary KING football boot …
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More than a third of Brits intend to reduce animal products this new year
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 10th February 2023
Research from The Vegan Society showed that an increasing number of people are looking to reduce their consumption of meat and dairy for environmental reasons. More than one-third of Britons plan to cut back on their consumption of meat and dairy in 2023, according to a survey by the Vegan Society. The world’s oldest vegan …
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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. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …
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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. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a …
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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. Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …