The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a report that emphasizes that global warming is “unequivocally the fault” of human activity. And this challenge cannot be overcome without joining forces and a global change in attitudes toward nature.
If this is not done, scientists say, over the next three decades
- coastal zones will be flooded;
- flowering lands will slowly turn into deserts;
- fires will burn out forests, which will further enhance the greenhouse effect;
- residents of megacities will suffer from a lack of water and clean air;
- more than 130 million people will fall below the poverty line;
- the number of people suffering from hunger will increase by tens of millions.
What are the signs of accelerating climate change?
The average rate of atmospheric emissions is now the highest it has ever been in recorded history, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The peak of global carbon dioxide emissions in the summer of 2021 was 50% higher than at the beginning of the industrial era.
The volume of CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere from the combustion of coal, oil and natural gas for transportation and electricity generation far exceeds the ability of the Earth’s vegetation to absorb it.
At the same time, the number of forests on the planet, including the Amazonian rainforest, which is called the main “lungs of the planet,” is catastrophically decreasing.
In addition to carbon dioxide, humanity also pollutes the atmosphere with greenhouse gases such as methane (intensification of livestock production), nitrogen oxide (due to the use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers), and fluorinated gases (emitted by equipment and certain goods).
Greenhouse gases are accumulating. The atmosphere becomes less transparent. The temperature on the planet is rising, glaciers are melting.
In 2020, the global economy, according to various estimates, suffered losses of more than $150 billion due to natural disasters caused by climate change.