Earth warming faster
Reuters is reporting from Bonn saying “EU: Earth warming faster“.
Global warming is likely to overshoot a 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) rise seen by the European Union and many developing nations as a trigger for “dangerous” change, a Reuters poll of scientists showed on Tuesday.
Nine of 11 experts, who were among authors of the final summary by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007 (IPCC), also said the evidence that mankind was to blame for climate change had grown stronger in the past two years.
Giving personal views of recent research, most projected on average a faster melt of summer ice in the Arctic and a quicker rise in sea levels than estimated in the 2007 report, the most authoritative overview to date drawing on work by 2,500 experts.
“A lot of the impacts we’re seeing are running ahead of our expectations,” said William Hare of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Ten of 11 experts said it was at best “unlikely” — or less than a one-third chance — that the world would manage to limit warming to a 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) rise above pre-industrial levels.
“Scientifically it can be done. But it’s unlikely given the level of political will,” said Salemeel Huq at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London.
Political will in democratic countries comes from the people, and it’s the democratic countries that are dragging the chain on this issue I am afraid. We have a responsibility to show leadership, to show moral clarity and to push hard for solutions to this most terrible of crises. Wherever you live, whatever your political flavour, lobby hard and lobby now for an effective global response to the failures of our economic system to preserve long term prosperity, for that’s what this is about. The Earth itself will still be here after we have done with it, but it will be a dead planet. And there’ll be nothing around to regret our passing. — DS