IPCC report: climate change is widespread, rapid & intensifying - & it's down to us

[C C]

Politicians in areas with most climate risk tweet about it least
https://phys.org/news/2021-08-politician...tweet.html

INTRO: Politicians are more likely to tweet about climate change if they are Democrats, represent wealthier districts and if their constituents are concerned about the climate, according to a new Cornell study. Meanwhile, communities most at risk from climate change are less likely to see their political leaders tweet about it, the multidisciplinary team of researchers said.... (MORE)

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(UK) Climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying - and it's down to us
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58138714

EXCERPTS: For those who live in the West, the dangers of warming our planet are no longer something distant, impacting people in faraway places. "Climate change is not a problem of the future, it's here and now and affecting every region in the world," said Dr Friederike Otto from the University of Oxford, and one of the many authors on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

It is the confidence of the assertions that the scientists are now making that is the real strength of this new publication. The phrase "very likely" appears 42 times in the 40-odd pages of the Summary for Policymakers. In scientific terms, that's 90-100% certain that something is real.

"I think there's not one single kind of new surprise that comes out, it's the over-arching solidness that makes this the strongest IPCC report ever made," Prof Arthur Petersen, from University College London (UCL), told BBC News.

Prof Petersen is a former Dutch government representative at the IPCC, and was an observer at the approval session that produced this report. "It's understated, it's cool, it's not accusing, it's just bang, bang, bang, one clear point after the other."

The clearest of these points is about the responsibility of humanity for climate change. There's no longer any equivocating - it's us.

[....] "We're not going to let this report be shelved by further inaction. Instead, we'll be taking it with us to the courts," said Kaisa Kosonen, senior political adviser at Greenpeace Nordic.

"By strengthening the scientific evidence between human emissions and extreme weather, the IPCC has provided new, powerful means for everyone everywhere to hold the fossil fuel industry and governments directly responsible for the climate emergency. One only needs to look at the recent court victory secured by NGOs against Shell to realise how powerful IPCC science can be." (MORE - missing details)

RELATED (scivillage): UK contrarians
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(Australia) Immediate changes required to limit global warming: IPCC
https://www.labonline.com.au/content/res...-209957197

EXCERPT: . . . The report provides new estimates of the chances of crossing the global warming level of 1.5°C in the next decades, and finds that unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5 or even 2°C will be beyond reach.

The report shows that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1°C of warming since 1850–1900, and finds that averaged over the next 20 years, global temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5°C of warming. This assessment is based on improved observational datasets to assess historical warming, as well as progress in scientific understanding of the response of the climate system to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

“We now have a much clearer picture of the past, present and future climate, which is essential for understanding where we are headed, what can be done and how we can prepare,” said IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Valérie Masson-Delmotte.

Every region facing increasing changes. The report projects that in the coming decades climate changes will increase in all regions. For 1.5°C of global warming, there will be increasing heat waves, longer warm seasons and shorter cold seasons. At 2°C of global warming, heat extremes would more often reach critical tolerance thresholds for agriculture and health, the report shows.

But it is not just about temperature. Climate change is bringing multiple different changes in different regions — which will all increase with further warming. These include changes to wetness and dryness, winds, snow and ice, coastal areas and oceans. For example... (MORE - details)

RELATED (scivillage): You can't escape climate change by moving to New Zealand

[Syne]

There is zero difference in the confidence of new and former climate predictions, especially as they are used to advocate governmental policy.

[Zinjanthropos]

Could it be that we’re still more so adapted to a past climate and have not made the proper adjustments for coping with the new? It looks like we’ll be adapting as we go along, no rush to adapt to a future unknown climate I guess. Personally I don’t think climate change will wipe out the human race.

For centuries the polar regions haven’t been the choice of many to colonize. Perhaps that will change and the tropics become less appealing. Whatever.

But I get it. We don’t want our descendants, our progeny, to face hardship or be eliminated. Almost sounds like a case of the urge to pass on the genes, seems life can’t help itself. It’s what it does. I have kids and grandchildren too, I don’t wish death & destruction on any of them.

[Magical Realist]

Real effects of global warming from the article:

"Climate change is intensifying the water cycle. This brings more intense rainfall and associated flooding, as well as more intense drought in many regions.

Climate change is affecting rainfall patterns. In high latitudes, precipitation is likely to increase, while it is projected to decrease over large parts of the subtropics. Changes to monsoon precipitation are expected, which will vary by region.

Coastal areas will see continued sea level rise throughout the 21st century, contributing to more frequent and severe coastal flooding in low-lying areas and coastal erosion. Extreme sea level events that previously occurred once in 100 years could happen every year by the end of this century.

Further warming will amplify permafrost thawing, and the loss of seasonal snow cover, melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and loss of summer Arctic sea ice.

Changes to the ocean, including warming, more frequent marine heatwaves, ocean acidification and reduced oxygen levels have been clearly linked to human influence. These changes affect both ocean ecosystems and the people that rely on them, and they will continue throughout at least the rest of this century.

For cities, some aspects of climate change may be amplified, including heat (since urban areas are usually warmer than their surroundings), flooding from heavy precipitation events and sea level rise in coastal cities."

[Leigha]

I was reading an article about climate change deniers recently and how some of them are now “believers.” Some of them said that they were still on the fence regarding climate change turning into an “industry,” but they see the value in being good stewards of the planet. As we know, many deniers seem to think that human involvement is insignificant, but maybe it’s a matter of small steps to moving forward as a society?

I don’t like how climate change deniers are all lumped together though as if they’re all “crazy” and “anti-science”. I don’t think that’s the case - there’s some of that sure, but there are deniers who have different reasons for their views. Since everyone needs to be a part of the change, “cancelling” them isn’t a good idea.