NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 3 Nov) – The need to cap the temperature rise of the planet at 1.5 degrees Celsius is imperative to stop the Earth from careening irreversibly to the cliff of destruction from the wicked push of climate change. Without this brake scientists say a continuing temperature rise will reach a tipping point that may yet wipe out all forms of life on earth.
Global temperatures have been on the rise and right now the world is about 1.[]
2 degrees C above late 1900 levels, where average global temperatures were then about 0.8 C cooler than now.
The radical warming of the planet is attributed to rapidly increasing greenhouse gases emission into the atmosphere in the last few decades resulting from the burning of fossil fuel in industries, buildings and transport, in grains farming and from large scale clearing of forestall lands to give way to plantation crops and livestock production, and in logging for lumber, construction materials and wood products. For instance, 20% of the Amazon forest – the so-called lungs of the earth – has been destroyed in recent years to meet various human needs and wants. The destruction emits large amount of carbon dioxide and water vapor into the atmosphere.
The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere block and deflect the unused heat energy from the sun and the heat waste from human activities back to the surface of the earth, which otherwise would have dissipated to outer space. The deflected heat dries grassland and forests to high kindling temperature that is prone to start unimaginable wildfires. It is also melting the polar ice and heating unusually the oceans, which cause massive evaporation and consequent heavy precipitation.
Already at current 1.2 degrees C temperature, the Earth’s natural process of radiation, evaporation, condensation and precipitation that makes climate predictable and weathers reliable has been infringed. It impacts the amount of water in the atmosphere and triggers violent downpours instead of steady showers or the seasonal rains.
The temperature disturbances in the oceans increase the power and frequency of typhoons and hurricanes; and flooding and tidal surges have recently become more common in land masses near the oceans. Moreover, the melting of polar icecaps adversely reduce their cooling effect on the planet, warming further the Earth surface, raising the sea level to as high as 5-7 meters and has already submerged some islands in the Pacific and is now threatening the safety of many coastal cities
The 144 countries participating in the 2015 Paris Agreement announced that the world should limit the global increase in this century to 1.5 degrees C, a stricter limit than the former goal of 2 degrees C increase.
However, since the Paris accord in 2015, scientists have issued increasingly urgent warnings that the 1.5C goal is slipping out of reach. To meet it, global emissions must plummet 45% by 2030 from 2010 levels, and reach net zero by 2050 – requiring huge changes to countries’ systems of transport, energy production, manufacturing and farming. Accordingly, countries’ current pledges would see global emissions soar by 16% by 2030.
Outstanding emitters, namely, China, US, the European Union, and India, which are responsible for 80% of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, are expected to bite the bullet – to reduce furthermore their emissions and invest big in financing global efforts in combatting the problems of climate change.
At countries’ existing pledges to cut emissions, the planet’s average temperature will, accordingly, rise to 2.7C this century, which the UN says would supercharge the destruction that climate change is already causing at present, killing coral reefs and ocean lives, destroying natural habitats, and devastating global food security.[]