A seven-page statement released by a group of seven leading international climatologists raises alarm about rising temperatures on Earth. If major efforts are not made now, the objective of limiting the temperature rise to 2°C may not be achievable, as this threshold could be reached very quickly.
According to the Paris agreements that occurred in 2015 after COP21, it is essential to limit the rise in temperatures on Earth below the threshold of +2°C compared to the pre-industrial era from 2050, in which case the effects would be out of control, including rising sea levels and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events. For some climatologists, it is even preferable to favor a more ambitious objective, that of limiting the rise in temperatures to 1.5°C so as not to enter into a critical situation.
This group of seven eminent climatologists sounded the alarm and published a seven-page press release summarizing an already critical situation, entitled » The truth about climate change“. For Robert Watson, former chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and spokesperson for these seven scientists from several countries, » warming is happening now and much faster than expected“, as the Earth prepares to break a heat record for the third consecutive year.
» Without additional efforts by all major greenhouse gas emitters, the goal of limiting temperature rise to 2°C could even be achieved even sooner. says Robert Watson. In fact, over the past few years, the rise in temperatures has greatly accelerated; in 2015 the average temperature on the globe had already risen 1°C above that of the pre-industrial era in the 19th century, it was only 0.85°C in 2012, according to the International Meteorological Organization . In addition, the number of extreme climatic phenomena linked to global warming, such as droughts, forest fires, floods and hurricanes, has already doubled since 1990, explain the scientists.
For these scientists, the situation is critical since even if all the signatory countries of the Paris agreements respected their commitments, the global emissions of greenhouse gases will not decrease fast enough over the next fifteen years. The ambitious goal of keeping the rise in temperatures below 1.5°C is » almost certainly impossible and this threshold could be reached as early as 2030. Knowing that for 80% of the signatory countries, meeting the objectives depends on the granting of financial aid and technical assistance by the richest nations.
The political situation in the United States, the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is an additional concern. » Even if Trump, who denies the reality of climate change, loses and Hillary Clinton enters the White House, if both houses of Congress remain controlled by Republicans, it will pose a real problem for the Paris agreement.“said Robert Watson. » The political platform of the Republicans wants to undo the Paris agreement and produce and export more coal“, he was alarmed. » This would encourage other countries to back out of their commitments“.
Source: AFP