Researchers concluded that governments have failed to address the root cause for climate change, "the overexploitation"Global economy's business as usual approach to climate change has led to Earth's "vital indicators" declining to record levels, according to an influential group of scientists Wednesday. This warning came after several climate tipping points were identified.These researchers are part of an international group of over 14,000 scientists that have signed on to an initiative declaring a global climate emergency. They stated that governments had failed to address the root causes of climate change, "the overexploitation" of the Earth.They also noted an "unprecedented rise" in climate-related disasters since a similar assessment was done in 2019. This included flooding in South America, Southeast Asia, and Australia, as well as record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires both in Australia and the US and devastating cyclones throughout Africa and South Asia.There are 31 "vital indicators" that indicate planetary health. These include global greenhouse gas emissions and glacier thickness. Sea-ice extent, deforestation, and sea-ice extent.For instance, in spite of a drop in pollution due to the pandemic in 1918, atmospheric CO2 levels and methane reached all-time highs for 2021.The authors stated that Greenland, Antarctica, and Antarctica recently had record-low levels of ice mass. Glaciers are melting 31 percent faster now than they were 15 years ago.Ocean heat and global sea level have set new records since 2019. The annual loss rate for the Brazilian Amazon reached an all-time high of 12 years in 2020.Highlights from the landmark Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC), draft report on the impacts of a warming planet on Nature.They also confirmed previous research that the Brazilian Amazon was acting as a source of carbon rather than an absorber of it due to forest degradation.They said that livestock such as sheep and cows are at record levels and now number more than four billion. Their mass is greater than all wild land mammals and humans combined.Tim Lenton, Director of the University of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute, and co-author of the study, stated that the climate was already beginning to behave in unexpected and shocking ways after the record-breaking heatwave in Canada and the Western United States.He stated that "We must respond to the evidence of climate tipping points by taking urgent action to decarbonize the global economy, and to restore instead of destroying the environment.""Fix the root cause"Researchers stated that there is "accumulating evidence" that we are close to or have already crossed a number climate tipping points.These include the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and West Antarctic ice sheet, which could be irreversible over a long time span, regardless of humankind's efforts to reduce its emissions.Highlights from the landmark Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC), draft report on the impacts of a warming planet on humans.They claimed that increasing ocean deoxygenation was threatening warm-water coral Reefs. These reefs are dependent upon half a billion people for income, food, and storm protection.The study was published in BioScience. It stated that "Given these alarming development, we need to receive short, frequent and easily accessible updates about the climate emergency."These authors echo previous calls for transformation in six areas: eliminating fossil fuels and reducing pollutants, restoring ecosystems. They also advocate switching to plant-based diets, moving from indefinite growth models, stabilising the human population, and switching to non-vegetarian diets.In order to increase awareness, they also requested that climate change education be included in the school core curriculums worldwide.They proposed three emergency responses to the climate crisis in the immediate term.These included "a significant carbon cost", a global ban on fossil fuels and the creation of climate reserves that could be used to restore and maintain carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots.William Ripple, a distinguished professor of ecology at Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, stated that "We must stop treating the climate crisis as a standalone issue - global warming is not the only symptom of our stressed earth system.""Policies to address the climate crisis and any other symptoms must address the root cause: human overexploitation."Learn more.2021 AFP
