10 Years to Combat Climate Change
Many people have heard the idea that the world only has 10 years to combat climate change. But what does that really mean?
For starters, it does not mean that the world is going to end in 10 years. Instead, this is an amount of time where action needs to be taken or the world will face irreversible consequences in the future.
The Earth’s Temperature
This idea first came up in 2018, when the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report stating the actions needed to be taken to prevent the Earth’s temperature from rising beyond 1.5⁰C, the goal of the Paris climate agreement.
The larger goal is to cut carbon dioxide emissions and to become net zero by 2050. But in order for this to happen, crucial actions need to be taken now and CO2 emissions need to start dropping before 2030, which is where the idea of the “10 years” came from.
Overall, this idea is about lowering CO2 emissions until net zero is reached to prevent the global temperature from exceeding 1.5⁰C.
What Should Be Done
Net zero carbon means that the amount of CO2 that is emitted into the air is balanced with carbon removal. Eliminating all carbon emissions is also an option.
Net zero can be achieved by not relying as much on fossil fuels and turning to other options such as wind, solar, water, and nuclear.
If carbon needs to be emitted, it will then have to be absorbed to maintain net zero. One way to go about this is to stimulate nature to absorb more. Planting more trees and other plants will allow more carbon to be taken in from the atmosphere. The other option is to build technology that will be able to suck the carbon from the air.
What Happens if No Action is Taken
If no action is taken, it will result in gas emissions increasing which will lead to irreversible and costly disruptions to global societies and ecosystems.
Increased temperatures will cause longer and hotter heat waves, which then would lead to more frequent crop-killing droughts, affecting the world of agriculture. An increase in droughts will also cause wildfire seasons to last much longer.
A warmer planet will cause mountain glaciers to melt faster, which can cause danger to the communities that live near them. The melting of polar ice sheets will also accelerate, causing more intense flooding that will force sea levels to rise at a higher rate that will make it difficult to adapt to. In addition, Arctic permafrost, the layer of soil that is frozen all the time, will thaw and release more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, once again heating the planet more.
Higher CO2 levels raise acidification levels of oceans because oceans absorb CO2 from the air, which results in the decrease of oxygen levels in oceans. This will affect the marine wildlife and bleach coral reefs of their color.
The world will still exist if the temperature goes beyond 1.5⁰C, but something as small as a 0.5⁰C increase will generate these impacts on the planet that will be difficult to adapt to. Taking immediate action in the next decade alone will help prevent these catastrophic events from occurring, which is why it is important to act now.
Sources
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Edited by: Mehek Bhargava, Director of Research Bloggers
