Image source: unsplash
You might have heard it already, but today the latest IPCC report came out (you can find it here). It took quite a while before it came out. Why, you might ask? Well writing a document with a big group of representatives with different incentives and goals simply takes a while. The task of producing this report is quite involved:
Anyways... Apart from the endeavor of writing such a document, the challenge it is describing is overshadowing by far. In order to keep the temperature rise in the 1.5-degree range, we need to step up significantly. Not just individual countries, everybody.
The heavily science-backed report states that the human-caused carbon release in our atmosphere has never been as high as in the last decade. If we do not take additional measures to reduce our carbon footprint the average temperature will likely rise to 3.2 by the year 2100. The latest plots from the report show something we have seen over and over the past years. An unprecedented increase in human-caused climate change:
Image source: IPCC AR6 report.
That temperature might not seem like a lot. But this is an average increase. The image below provided in the IPCC report shows that in the crucial pole regions, the temperature will increase significantly more. This means more freshwater melting into our oceans.
Image source: IPCC AR6 report.
This sounds quite frightening, and to some extent it is. But slowly the momentum of change is growing. You see this in many ways. People fly less, green energy is becoming cheaper and cheaper, and new cleaner technologies are gaining popularity. Below, for example, shows the amount of Gigawatt hours produced by photovoltaic installations and wind farms (both on land and offshore). The bottom right graph, in addition, shows the number of electric cars sold
Image source: NOS.
While the impact of these changes is still probably very insignificant at the moment, the important takeaway is that something is coming into motion. A shift towards a more sustainable world. And this gives us hope.
The important question regarding all of this is: will there be enough time to make this shift happen in time?
We will only know down the line. Let's hope for a sunny scenario!
If you are interested in this topic, I can really recommend skimming through the actual report. It is quite a big file, but it is filled with lots of interesting reports on random climate-related research. Just follow the link given in the text above.