Many people's first reaction to being diagnosed with cancer is terror, horror, and the belief that they are doomed. Reminders of the imminent catastrophe may bring about the same response for those who have not been paying attention to climate chaos. If you have ever been a patient of cancer, or know someone who has, the next step is to determine the best treatment options and in many cases go all-out for them. You have been approved for a promising treatment and are feeling better. It is worth doing things that make a difference.Climate change is a disaster. This summer's flooding, fires, and extreme heat from China, Siberia, and British Columbia are all reminders of how the problem is rapidly getting worse. The striking thing about the IPCC Report released earlier in the month isn't the bad news. This is news for anyone who has been following the science closely. It was the clarity of possibilities that I found encouraging.The most remarkable thing about the IPCC report was laid out in a pair of tweets by Piers Forster, University of Leeds climate scientist. They highlighted the good and the bad news in the report. The bad news is that we are experiencing more extreme and frequent weather events. We are now close to 1.5C of global warming, and we will be there by the middle of century. Forster said that net zero CO2 will reduce the likelihood of further warming. The temperature rise should slow down or even stop at net zero.Or, as the report stated, at p. 120 in the fifth section:Some aspects of climate change could be reversed by deliberate removal of carbon dioxide (CO 2) from the atmosphere. This will only occur if the deliberate removals exceed the emissions. Some trends in climate change, such as an increase in global temperature, will begin to reverse within a few decades. Others, like permafrost melting, could take years or even centuries to reverse. Some, like sea level rise would require centuries or millennia for their direction to change.It's a long shot, in other words. It will require a tremendous effort, unimaginable cooperation, and visionary dedication. This would require profound changes in society, economy, and our way of doing business. It is possible. We know how.I wrote To Forster. He replied that the good news began with scientific understanding and precision. He wrote:The new science also contains good news. The risk of abrupt changes in climate, such as the Gulf stream crashing, the sudden collapse of the Antarctic ice sheets, or the death and destruction by Amazon forests, is low. If we can maintain a temperature increase of 1.5C, it will be extremely unlikely. We can now see the exact emission path that the planet must follow to keep temperatures close to 1.5C by using improved climate projections.One of the major banners at New York City's 2014 climate march stated, "We have the solutions." We have been able to see the problem for many decades. The solutions to the problem, including solar and wind, have been found in this new millennium. Political obstacles remain, meaning that the fossil fuel industry is thriving and people continue to do things the same way. These corrosive forces require a strong civil society. People are needed to transform dread and terror into determination. We also need more people, as so many scientists, policymakers, funders, and organisers already have this ability.There is an urgent need. Antnio Guterres (UN secretary general) stated that this report must be a wake-up call for fossil fuels and coal before they cause havoc on our planet. After 2021, there must be no new coal-fired power plants. All new exploration and production of fossil fuels should be stopped and fossil-fuel subsidies should be shifted to renewable energy. To maintain a net zero trajectory by 2030, the solar and wind capacities should quadruple. Renewable energy investments should also triple in order to achieve this goal.Even the stoic International Energy Agency stated in May that net-zero emissions must be our goal. This means a huge reduction in the use oil, coal and gas. This is a narrow path, but it's possible. It would provide major benefits to human well-being and prosperity, as well as a chance to limit global warming at 1.5C. In our net zero pathway, there is no need to invest in new fossil fuel supplies. Instead, we need to dismantle and demolish the fossil fuel industry by 2030.Climate change is not a simple task. It is an obligation to create a better world. A world that is cleaner, more equitable and more cooperative with the environment as well as each other. The status quo can't continue; the only way forward is hell or heaven. If we reach the relative paradise of a postcarbon world, we'll see the hell that the age of fossil fuels was. From the toxic effects of oil, coal, and the millions of deaths each year, to the corruption in our politics.The big picture is ending the age of fossil fuels with their carbon dioxide and methane emissions. But there are many pieces that address agriculture, diet, construction, transportation and environmental protection. William Moomaw (an ex-IPCC lead author) emphasizes the importance of forests. In an article written earlier this year by Beverly Law, an environmental scientist and he, forests account for about one third of all human-caused carbon dioxide emission to the atmosphere. Researchers found that if deforestation is stopped and mature forests allowed to continue growing, forests could absorb twice as much carbon.The tree is the best carbon sequestration technology, according to a long-standing joke. Forster stated that this is another thing that I find remarkable about nature. The forests and ocean growth continue to absorb a lot of the carbon we produce. The report actually shows that this is what makes net-zero targets possible.We know what to do. It is possible. It is up to us whether we will make it happen, although many scientists and activists are already doing so. We should be motivated by the fear of a worse world, but we can also hope for a better one. Public pressure should be applied to the world's governments to save the planet and hold them accountable in the coming years at the climate summit in Glasgow.
