This week brought some big news regarding the state of climate change – and the findings are bleak.
The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its long-anticipated report on the threats posed by climate change. This report created by 270 researchers from 67 countries provides the most detailed account of the current impacts of climate change and the trajectory of its effects over the next few decades. It shows that the dangers from global warming are proliferating so much so that both nature and humanity will soon become too overwhelmed to adapt.
We’re already seeing the devastation of climate change: once-in-a-century droughts, rising sea levels, and record-breaking floods and weather events. The report found that these impacts are much more widespread and significantly more negative than expected. And the report states that efforts like flood barriers, air conditioning, and early warning systems to mitigate climate threats have been too incremental.
The report warns us that if temperatures continue to rise, we’ll soon face limits in how much we can adapt to a changing climate.
The call to action is clear: we must make transformational changes that rethink how we build homes, grow food, produce energy, and defend our ecosystems. The consequences of not taking action are too dire: Flooding would inundate coastal cities, and severe heat could become unbearable in many places worldwide. Saltwater intrusion will make drinking water scarce. Ocean acidity would rise, killing off coral reefs.
There has never been more urgency to meet this moment with action. SEEC members will continue to fight for action big and small, from getting the $555 billion climate package over the finish line to making sure that climate is considered in every bill that moves through Congress. There is no bandaid for this problem – we must act quickly, from all sides, wherever possible.
Our pro-environment majority in the House is the only thing that stands between action on climate and a complete disregard for this crisis.