WASHINGTON (AN) — Global warming is pushing the Earth to the edge of an “irreversible climate crisis” so severe and unforgiving, climate researchers report, that the very fabric of life on our planet is imperiled.
After years of warnings from tens of thousands of scientists from around the globe, and even some fossil fuel producers, greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase and push the climate toward the breaking point.
“We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster. This is a global emergency beyond any doubt,” the report by an international team of scientists published in Bioscience on Tuesday begins. “We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis."
A separate study published on Wednesday in Nature reports on the dangers of exceeding climate goals, warning it will be virtually impossible to reverse the adverse impacts of global warming on the Earth and its environment. Sea levels, for example, “will continue to rise for centuries to millennia even if long-term temperatures decline.”
For the report in Bioscience, scientists led by Oregon State University's William Ripple and Christopher Wolf show climate change worsening at a dangerous pace, with 25 of Earth's 35 planetary vital signs of human climate-related activities and climate responses now at record extremes.
Among the key findings of the team, which also includes Johan Rockström and Stefan Rahmstorf of Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, climatologist Michael Mann and science historian Naomi Oreskes, are record-breaking temperatures and sea levels; annual energy-related emissions exceeding 40 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent for the first time on record; accelerating losses of ice sheets and glaciers; and a rising frequency of billion-dollar climate-related disasters.
Along with the three hottest days ever recorded on Earth during July and fossil fuel emissions at an all-time high, there are more people than ever and more ruminant livestock that raise carbon emissions and energy use.
Life on Earth in jeopardy
Effects of climate change go well beyond rising temperatures. Hurricanes like Helene and Milton, which brought devastation to Florida and the Southeastern United States, form faster and grow more intense. Wildfires are commonplace. Destructive floods and prolonged droughts from an accelerated hydrological cycle are the new normal.
Super Typhoon Yagi caused severe flooding, landslides, and widespread infrastructural damage across Southeast Asia, affecting the Philippines, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Droughts plus heatwaves and warm spells affect crops productivity in several regions of Southern Africa, Central and Southern America, Southeast Asia and Europe.
All these disasters bring untold suffering to human and animal life, destroy nature, and cost billions of dollars to economies worldwide.
“A large portion of the very fabric of life on our planet is imperiled,” says Ripple. “We’re already in the midst of abrupt climate upheaval, which jeopardizes the life on Earth like nothing humans have ever seen.
The consumption habits of humans, especially those with higher incomes, and the policies of major emitters of greenhouse gases – primarily China, the United States and India – will likely result in about 2.7° Celsius peak warming by the end of the century, well beyond the limits established by international agreements to reverse catastrophic impacts we are now beginning to see, the study says. Annual consumption of fossil fuels climbed by 1.5% in 2023, mainly due to increases in coal and oil burning.
Renewable energy use also increased last year – solar and wind consumption together were up by 15% over 2022. The report, however, says the use of renewables amounts to just one-fourteenth of fossil fuel consumption, and their recent rise is attributable mainly to increased demand, not because they are replacing fossil fuels.
Future demands decisive action
Wolf, a data scientist, says the world has made little headway on climate change despite six reports from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, hundreds of other reports, tens of thousands of scientific papers, and 28 annual meetings of the U.N.’s Conference of the Parties.
“If future generations are to inherit the world they deserve," he says, "decisive action is needed, and fast." He highlights several key concerns:
- Global average surface temperatures reached unprecedented levels.
- Ocean acidity, heat content, and global sea levels are at record highs.
- Ice mass in Greenland and Antarctica, along with average glacier thickness, are at historic lows.
- A total of 28 feedback loops that intensify climate change, such as thawing permafrost, have been identified.
An irreversible tipping point
The study reaffirms a steady flow of reports, findings and warnings from organizations like the World Meteorological Organization and European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has made it a signature initiative, warning that “we are living through climate collapse in real time.” Taking meaningful climate action by regulating emissions and promoting sustainable practices also is one of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
The scientists say the goal of their study is to provide clear, evidence-based insights “to inspire informed and bold responses from citizens, researchers, and global leaders.” They specifically advocate for swift implementation of policies that would:
- Establish a global carbon pricing system to limit high emissions from affluent groups and potentially generate money for further climate initiatives.
- Increase energy efficiency and conservation while transitioning from fossil fuels to low-carbon renewable energy sources.
- Reduce GHG emissions, including short-lived pollutants like methane.
- Protect and restore biodiverse ecosystems that are essential for carbon cycling and storage.
- Promote dietary changes favoring plant-based foods.
- Advance sustainable ecological economics and cut overconsumption and waste, especially by wealthy populations.
- Incorporate climate change education into global curriculums to improve awareness, literacy, and proactive engagement.
