Images of intense storms, heavy flooding and devastating droughts increasingly feature in mainstream and social media. Extreme weather events are indicative of large-scale, long-term shifts in our planet’s average temperatures and weather patterns associated with climate change. We humans affect the earth’s temperature and climate by adding vast amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal), cutting down rainforests and farming livestock. In 2019, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2, the most common GHG arising from human activities) were the highest ever recorded.
Human activities are responsible for 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warn that global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if we continue business as usual. Global CO2 emissions must peak by 2020 and be reduced by 45% before 2030 in order to limit temperature increases to 1.5°C yet we are on track for a 3°C increase by 2100. Warmer weather might seem appealing but climate change involves more than hotter temperatures – as our atmosphere and oceans heat up, snow and ice levels are reduced and sea levels increase, producing extensive negative impacts for societies, economies and important ecosystems.
Climate breakdown is driven by, and deepens, inequalities globally. The top 10 emitting countries emit 45% of global GHG emissions; the bottom 50% of countries emit only 13% of GHG emissions. So-called ‘developed’ countries in the Global North (particularly the US and Europe) have produced the most cumulative GHG emissions since the Industrial Revolution yet poorer countries which bear least responsibility for emissions will experience the worst consequences of climate change. Climate change exacerbates socio-economic and ecological inequalities within countries and climate risks affect people differently, depending on their social, economic and cultural environment. Human actions responsible for climate breakdown are destructive in other ways and more species face extinction than ever before. Since 1500, human activities have caused the extinction of approx. 680 vertebrate species (e.g. mammals, fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles). Around 1 million species face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken to reduce the intensity of drivers of biodiversity loss.
The terms ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ fail to encapsulate the wide-ranging socio-ecological impacts of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate breakdown which George Monbiot describes as ‘the collapse of the benign climate in which humans have prospered, and the loss of the conditions upon which many other life-forms depend’. Indeed, calling climate breakdown ‘climate change’ is like calling an invading army ‘unwanted visitors’. Climate breakdown is an amalgam of socio-economic, political and ecological injustices, risks and impacts on a scale humanity has never previously experienced.
Calling for urgent action to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies, Extinction Rebellion, Youth Strikes for Climate, Global Climate Strikes are some social movements compelling change. Yet, for many people, socio-ecological crises can be difficult to comprehend, provoking ‘eco-anxiety’, denial, scepticism and other defence mechanisms which can prevent us from responding effectively to climate breakdown.
Identifying psychological, cultural, socio-economic and physical barriers to climate action is important; similarly, we should recognise the power of collectively coming together in communities to overcome such barriers through sharing ideas and planning for a healthier, sustainable future. Doing so can help us develop hope, resilience and strategies for multi-level climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our free public event Creating our Sustainable Future offers one space for creative, critical collaboration. More broadly, numerous opportunities for transformative climate action exist within our cities and countries.
Ultimately, the onus is upon all of us to take climate action now.
Amanda Slevin is a Policy Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast. You can follow her on Twitter.
There is a free event on climate change happening tomorrow in Queen’s as part of the ESRC Festival Of Social Science In Northern Ireland 2019, get your free tickets here.
QPol is the ‘front door’ for public policy engagement at Queen’s University Belfast, supporting academics and policymakers in sharing evidence-based research and ideas on the major social, cultural and economic challenges facing society regionally, nationally and beyond. Website: qpol.qub.ac.uk Email: [email protected]
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