From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

h/t Dennis Ambler

Forget about 1.5C, the climate crackpots say 1.0C is already too much:

Top climate scientist Johan Rockström says global warming above 1°C is already causing significant harm to humans.

Scientists have for years backed a goal to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, to avoid the most dangerous effects for the planet. But a new analysis says the limit to prevent significant harm to people is just 1°C.

The warning – issued this week in research published in the journal Nature – comes late, given that the Earth has already heated up by about 1.2C since preindustrial times.

The World Meteorological Organization has said global average temperatures are more likely than not to breach 1.5°C – the most ambitious goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement to tackle climate change – in the next five years, on a temporary basis.

Given this prospect, leading climate scientist Johan Rockström, who co-authored the new study, said in an interview that it is valuable for policymakers and the public to know that the planet is already in highly risky territory.

“If we really care about people … we must understand that there is so much scientific evidence today that the safe and just landing zone is actually already surpassed,” he said.

Research led by the Earth Commission, a group of scientists working on sustainability, had earlier found that surpassing 1.5°C of warming risks triggering tipping points for irreversible changes in earth systems such as ice sheets and coral reefs.

In the new study, they added a “justice” element to work out what level of warming brings severe and widespread impacts for humans such as death, displacement and chronic disease, as well as loss of incomes, food and water.

“We find that already 1°C equals what we define as significant harm”, with millions of people, communities, countries and regions affected permanently, said Rockström, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

“That means that 1°C becomes the just maximum level of global warming,” he added.

That level was reached in 2015 – and with warming now likely to pass 1.5°C and head towards the less ambitious Paris pact limit of “well below 2C” – Rockström said he was nervous the debate may switch to settling for 2C and delaying the current 2050 deadline to cut planet-heating emissions to net zero.

“That is a more likely outcome than tightening up climate policy today, so science that proves that keeping us on this tightrope towards fast decarbonisation is really, really essential,” he added, emphasising the importance of planting the 1.5°C flag firmly “in the ground”.

In addition, Rockström said the finding that 1°C of warming has provoked severe human consequences and costs adds to the urgency of tackling “loss and damage” fuelled by climate change – a contested topic at U.N. talks which saw a hard-won deal at last year’s COP27 summit to set up a fund for that purpose.

The study “confirms the voice” of those struggling on the climate change frontlines – whether in small island states such as the Maldives or farmers in Burkina Faso, he added.

“It’s a way of showing that this is real: 1.2C hits hard already today and we’re in the midst of this challenge right now. It’s not in the future: it’s now,” said the Swedish scientist, who also co-chairs the Earth Commission.

https://www.eco-business.com/news/15c-for-planet-1c-for-people-scientists-step-up-climate-warning/

How can anyone who calls himself a scientist seriously claim that the world’s inhabitants are worse off than they were 150 years ago, whether climate or otherwise?

Take his example of Burkina Faso, for example, (we’ll leave aside the fact that the Maldives keep building new resorts and airports!):

The study “confirms the voice” of those struggling on the climate change frontlines – whether in small island states such as the Maldives or farmers in Burkina Faso.

According to the UN, Burkina Faso’s farmers have never had it as good:

https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#compare

https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy

Maybe Rockström would prefer them all to live as their ancestors did centuries ago?