The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just released the synthesis report summarizing findings of their latest technical research published in 2021-22, based on analyses of thousands of scientific papers.
Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, issued yet another dire warning: “Humanity is on thin ice and that ice is melting fast. Our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once.”
This statement should alarm us and be a call to action for all of us – citizens, business owners and politicians.
We are no longer in an era of denial. The scientific consensus on climate change is unequivocal – it’s happening and it is the result of human activity, primarily burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). The era of delay has meant that global temperature has increased about 1.1 degrees C, just tenths of a degree away from the 1.5 degree C of warming that could push us past the tipping points of irreversible climate chaos. Now we must take swift and drastic action to avert this scenario.
Shifting the blame on individual actions, or one level of government or another, is not going to solve the problem. We cannot simply declare a climate emergency and wait for others to act; we must all begin to act as if this is the emergency it is.
We must immediately end expansion of new oil and gas projects, institute a cap on emissions and phase out existing fossil fuel production. We must quickly implement the available, proven and cost-effective solutions such as solar, wind and other clean energy sources to electrify our communities. As we transition, we should prioritize solutions that have social justice and economic benefits.
Julia Beatty,
Shuswap Climate Action Society
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