On August 10th, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a nearly 4,000 page long report detailing the effects of climate change and the future of the planet. The biggest conclusion among the many alarming findings was that these catastrophic effects are caused by human greenhouse emissions. However, it found that there is enough time to begin reversing global warming if action is taken immediately. Below are some of the most noteworthy findings from the report. 

Firstly, the planet is an entire degree warmer than it has been for the past 2,000 years. This warming is directly caused by human activities, with natural causes contributing to a negligible 0.05ºC increase in temperature. Meanwhile, human activities have caused a 1.2ºC increase in global temperatures. Even more worrisome is that presently, human emissions are not being reduced at a large enough rate to stop the temperature from rising even more. A 1.5ºC increase is the maximum temperature increase that the earth can handle before truly global catastrophic effects such as larger and longer droughts, more wildfires, and increased frequency of environmental anomalies begin taking place. The IPCC report gave five different predictions involving global temperature rise, and none of them predict that at the current rate of emissions temperatures will be able to stay under 1.5ºC or 2ºC by 2050. 

In addition, there are numerous climate-induced events happening right now. Fires in Greece, Italy, and the U.S. have devastated millions of acres of land, uprooted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and created ecological disasters in those regions. These kinds of fires are almost always caused by warmer temperatures, which in turn cause drier environmental conditions. Dry environments are caused by droughts, of which there are many right now. From California to Brazil to Madagascar, every continent except Antarctica is experiencing unprecedented levels of drought. Droughts have affected 1.5 billion people around the world and are responsible for over $124 billion in economic loss. As a result of these droughts, local governments have begun taking crucial steps to conserve water. For example, those who water their lawns in Bozeman, Montana, or Maui County in Hawaii will be fined for using water for “nonessential activities.” Israel has taken a unique approach by investing $500 million in the world’s largest desalination plant to convert seawater into usable water. However, the Israeli government has said that even this approach may not be enough to meet its needs. 

However, there is also some positive news in the climate world! Last month, President Biden banned almost all logging in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska and will work with indigenous groups to help with restoration. Meanwhile, Greenland has banned all new oil and gas exploration, joining 6 other countries that have done the same, and a 25-year study has found that ocean restoration is possible with methods like transplantation. Younger generations are also more inclined to care about climate change: around 70% of millennials and Generation Z individuals say that addressing climate change is a top priority for a sustainable future. 

While there is still a long way to go to combat the effects of climate change, there is still hope that the planet and humanity can be saved.