It's pretty clear that climate change is beginning to have large effects on our lives, despite the fact that we are nowhere near the 1.5C or 2.0C that is often cited at the threshold that we need to avoid. But how bad could it get?
Here's an article from Gizmodo that summarizes the results of a recently released research paper. Both are worth reading, although I wouldn't recommend doing so just before going to bed. (I was going to save this for another We're Toast post, but it really deserves more attention).
The signs right now are pointing to us being able to avert the types of disasters laid out in this report. The IPCC in its report earlier this year outlined specific pathways to help avoid 2 degrees of warming; if all nations stick to their existing pledges under the Paris Agreement, we’re on track for just a 1.8 degrees Celsius (3.24 degrees Fahrenheit) increase. Still, the worst case if we don’t meet these targets could be really bad. Politically vulnerable nation states share a “striking overlap” with areas that have the potential to see extreme heat. The paper also outlines what it calls the “four horsemen” of “the climate change end game”: vector-borne diseases, famine and undernutrition, extreme weather, and global conflict. These four factors, the paper states, could be exacerbated by other climate impacts, like sea level rise, as well as enhancing other non-climate risk factors like inequality and misinformation.
And if you are a praying person, pray that the Republicans don't win the 2024 election in the US.
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