This year has broken records for heat waves, wildfires, catastrophic floods and extreme weather events that have caused thousands of deaths around the world.
With this new data, more than 15,000 scientists, representing 163 countries, have just updated their report on the global climate emergency and their conclusion is that “life on planet Earth is already in danger” due to the serious impacts of change. climate.
Specifically, this coalition of scientists has reanalyzed the evolution of 35 “vital signs” of the Earth and warn that more than half of them (20) are now in such a serious state that the mortality rate of humans.
Furthermore, this report warns that, if climate change continues to increase, half of the world’s population will live in “non-habitable” areas of the planet due to “extreme and deadly heat” and a very “limited” availability of food. And this will cause “high mortality,” according to the authors of this report.
More heat waves
For example, this year alone, historical heat records have been recorded worldwide for 38 days and, even, during the month of July, the highest temperature on Earth in the last 100,000 years has been recorded.
“As scientists, we are enormously concerned about sudden increases in the frequency and severity of climate-related disasters,” warns Christopher Wolf Wolf, a researcher at Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates.
According to this report, “by the end of the 21st century, between 3 billion and 6 billion people could be outside the habitable regions of the Earth, meaning they will face intense heat, limited food availability and high mortality rates.” “.
More chronic hunger
Furthermore, the long droughts caused by climate change have increased the number of people suffering from chronic hunger by 122 million in the last 4 years alone, and there are already more than 735 million affected worldwide.
Meanwhile, these 15,000 scientists denounce that public aid for polluting fuels, such as oil, gas and coal, has multiplied by two during the last year and has already reached one trillion (with b) euros in 2021 .
More fires
This year, the gigantic forest fires that have devastated Canada have released more than 1 gigatonne of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and this even exceeds the total carbon dioxide emissions of this country, which are 0.67.
According to one of the coordinators of this new report, William Ripple, a professor at Oregon State University, “if we do not act quickly, it could result in more than half of the world’s population being confined beyond the habitable region of the Earth.” .
These 15,000 scientists conclude with an urgent call to action stating that “this is our moment to make a profound difference for all life on Earth, and we must embrace it with unwavering courage and determination to create a legacy of change that lasts.” the test of time.”
Solutions
The authors of this report recommend an “economic transition” to prioritize meeting the basic needs of all people rather than supporting the extreme consumption of the rich.
On the other hand, these thousands of experts also call for more measures from states to promote gender justice, greater support for education and the rights of women and girls, which can improve living standards and reduce rates. of fertility.
In addition, they call for the gradual elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, a transition to plant-based diets, greater protection of forests and compliance with international treaties aimed at the non-proliferation of fossil fuels and the elimination of burning. of coal.