A report released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on global warming should have set off alarms all over the world, has unfortunately instead attracted little attention of public leaders.
The UN report, issued the from Incheon where scientists and government representatives have been poring over thousands of inputs, details the kind of world we might be living in if the environment continues with a rate of global warming of 1.5 Degree Celsius. The report estimates that the world will reach 1.5C between 2030 and 2052 if temperatures continue to increase at the current rate. Hitting 2C would be debilitating and would permanently damage the world as we know it- almost no coral reefs remaining, the Arctic being completely devoid of ice during summer at least once a decade, and huge numbers of animals and plants becoming extinct as their habitat becomes smaller and smaller. It will also impact the sea-level which could be deleterious for human population in the low-lying coastal areas and island territories. To avoid the rise in temperature, there needs to be global level institutional change in countries’ environmental policies for the next twelve years.
It is hoped that this report by the UN, which lays out the devastating consequences of environmental pollution, will act as a catalyst for countries to discard political agendas and start taking climate change seriously. For global environmental policies, it will be crucial to have US on board. Unfortunately, with the current world atmosphere of the US pulling out of the Paris Accord, it seems unlikely that Trump will consider this report either.
It is terrifying to think that we have only twelve years to limit devastating global warming. Will the world wake up in time and cooperate to avoid the destruction of the world? The clock is ticking.