In short: yes, and the UN security council certainly thinks so. They met last Friday to discuss the threat that climate change poses to the world, particularly in regard to the heightened risk of natural disasters that comes hand in hand with rising global temperatures. Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said in her opening remarks: “The risks associated with climate-related disasters do not represent a scenario of some distant future. They are already a reality for millions of people around the globe – and they are not going away.” Climate change is a risk that the council is taking very seriously, as are countless organisations and governmental bodies across the globe, but some people still refuse to believe that it is happening. Donald Trump is a seasoned climate change denier, and in a recent tweet, even went as far to wish for some “good old fashioned Global Warming” in response to the cold weather, seeming to mistakenly confuse seasonal weather and climate. In light of this confusion, I think that we need to get down to the facts and find out what is really happening to our planet’s climate, and more importantly, whether Trump is right, and some strong winter frosts really do mean that we can rest easy knowing that global warming has halted, and our planet is on the mend.
Sadly, this doesn’t appear to be the case. The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii tracks CO2 levels in the atmosphere, and last year the readings revealed that levels had breached 410 parts per million (ppm) for the first time ever. From data collected through drilling into ice sheets, we know that this has never happened before, and so marks a worrying milestone in the planet’s history. For perspective, before the industrial revolution, levels did not rise above 300 ppm, and so we can be sure in taking full responsibility for this potentially deadly inundation of CO2. Unfortunately, according to the most recent press release from the Met Office, the 2019 forecast is not looking much better, with scientists predicting an even bigger rise than last year. So, what does this all mean? The most important thing to note is that rising CO2 levels means rising global temperatures, because the carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere absorbs and re-emits heat that would otherwise be lost to space. Rising temperatures means drought and water shortages, failing crop yields, vanishing ecosystems, coastal flooding, natural disasters, and these are just some of the things that scientists have predicted. Each of these alone is catastrophic enough but would have a ripple out effect causing further damage, with malaria outbreaks a likely companion to rising humidity and flooding.
This all paints a rather bleak outlook for the future, but all is not lost, as these are only forecasts of what will happen if we remain on our current course. Fortunately, climate change is starting to gain real traction across news outlets and social media, with more and more people committing to do something to fight against it. There are lots of lifestyle changes we can make to reduce our carbon footprint, such as buying locally to reduce airmiles, making the switch to a vegetarian diet, using electricity more efficiently, eating seasonally, and more importantly, encouraging our family and friends to do the same. There are also changes we can make at the global level. Big corporations have historically been notorious for their carbon emissions, with the Carbon Disclosure Project revealing that just 25 companies are responsible for over half of all global industrial emissions, but consumer pressure can change that. Recently, Ikea and Google committed to 100% renewable power, and Volvo said that all of its new cars this year will be electric or hybrid. Companies listen to their customers, and so we have a real opportunity to make a difference by demanding change.
We really should be worried about climate change, because by being worried about it, and making other people worried about it, we can ensure that it is taken seriously and that steps are taken to prevent it. We are currently pumping CO2 into the atmosphere at staggering levels, and through becoming aware of this and accepting our own complicity we can start to make changes in our regular routine to reduce our carbon footprint and prevent the situation getting any worse.
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