12 Years. Leave It To Fate Or Do What We Can?

We have 12 years to act on climate change before the world as we know it is lost. How much more urgent can it get? Making myriad small changes to our lives and pressuring politicians to pursue green policies is the only way to lessen the life-threatening damage we’ve already created

Will Gore, 8 October 2018 (UK Independent)

“Twelve years. According to climate scientists, that’s how long until we hit the 1.5C tipping point if we carry on as we are…[Then, expect floods, the] migration of millions of people away from areas that become uninhabitable…Coral reefs will vanish; many ancient trees will not survive; extreme weather events will become ever more common…Yet the scientists are also clear that we can still hold the line on further damaging change – if we’re prepared to act fast and invest a great deal of money. By reducing CO2 emissions by nearly half from their 2010 levels, we could give ourselves a fighting chance; by planting millions of trees and using technology to further capture carbon dioxide too, we might just do it…[T]he difference between possibility and impossibility is political will…

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…[But] the world’s most powerful politician is arguably its most famous climate change sceptic…[ China – the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter by a distance – has] invested significantly in renewables, yet the growing prosperity of its vast population continues to increase demand for energy to such an extent that curbing carbon output is challenging…India’s CO2 emissions are also soaring…[T]here is a temptation to throw up our hands and give it all up to fate…But of course we mustn’t…That means making myriad small changes to our lives; and it means pressuring politicians to pursue green policies…[Right now, holding back the tide] looks pretty bleak: but for goodness sake let’s at least try.” click here for more

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