New Climate Report From Scientists Leaves No Doubt - Accelerated Action is Imperative

New Climate Report From Scientists Leaves No Doubt - Accelerated Action is Imperative

The window for avoiding the worst consequences of a rapidly warming planet is substantially narrowing, but if we accelerate decarbonization, it is still within our power.  That is the prime, actionable takeaway from the first section of a highly anticipated, new authoritative report released yesterday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of highly respected scientists from around the world assembled under the auspices of the United Nations. The remaining two sections covering more specific climate impacts and strategies for addressing the challenge are scheduled for release in 2022.  The IPCC releases these comprehensive “assessments” every 7 years or so.

U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres accurately described the stark conclusions of the report as “a code red for humanity.”  Among its findings are the fact that the extreme weather that we are experiencing on the home-front and around the world is a consequence of how we have already heated up the planet and will intensify at least somewhat over the next 20 or 30 years no matter what actions we now take. “Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe,” wrote the authors of the report. “Evidence of observed changes in extremes such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones, and, in particular, their attribution to human influence, has strengthened since the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).”

These negative impacts are rapidly growing because the average global temperature has already increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial time due mainly to the burning of carbon-producing fossil fuels and the significant reduction in forests and other natural carbon sinks.  This means we are already two-thirds of the way towards speeding past the1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit increase that scientists tell us we must not exceed if we are to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.  At this point, according to the report, the best we can likely do is to keep the rise in average global temperature to the 1.5% Celsius limit and without concerted and expeditious action it will rise much higher with disastrous and multiplying results.

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By 2050 or so, we need to have weaned ourselves off fossil fuels and be roughly at net-zero carbon emissions, the report details. The need to accomplish this ambitious, but achievable global goal is the context to which President Biden’s all-out push for action on the climate domestically and the related strong diplomatic efforts that are producing results among the world’s other largest carbon emitters is best understood. 

Towards that end, President Biden signed an executive order last week setting a national goal of having half of all new vehicles sold in the United States be electric by the end of the decade and restoring and increasing a bit the Obama administration vehicle miles per gallons standards markedly weakened by the Trump administration.

Joined by the CEOs of the major car companies and the leaders of the United Auto Workers, President Biden said, “As I’ve said before, we’re in competition with China and many other nations for the 21st century.  To win, we’re going to have to make sure the future will be made in America. They’re a vision of the future that is now beginning to happen, the future of the automobile industry that is electric — battery, electric plug-in, hybrid electric, fuel cell electric. It’s electric and there’s no turning back. The question is whether we’ll lead or fall behind in the race for the future.”

The automobile companies announced their alignment with these goals. “Today, Ford, GM, and Stellantis announce their shared aspiration to achieve sales of 40-50% of annual U.S. volumes of electric vehicles (battery electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles) by 2030 in order to move the nation closer to a zero-emissions future consistent with Paris climate goals. Our recent product, technology, and investment announcements highlight our collective commitment to be leaders in the U.S. transition to electric vehicles.  This represents a dramatic shift from the U.S. market today that can be achieved only with the timely deployment of the full suite of electrification policies committed to by the Administration in the Build Back Better Plan.”

Taken together, the actions unveiled by Biden last week will put us much closer to achieving his goal of cutting domestic greenhouse gas emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching the essential net zero emissions target by 2050.  “Gasoline-powered cars and trucks are the largest single source of greenhouse gases produced in the United States, accounting for 28 percent of the country’s total carbon emissions,” reported The New York Times.

The new climate report makes it impossible to run away from the fact that it is imperative to decarbonize the global economy and to do so rapidly. Renewed American leadership—after 4 years of neglect and denial—and the precipitously declining price of renewable, non-carbon producing energy provides a realistic, if still challenging and difficult, path forward.

There are certain to be some sacrifices required and setbacks that will occur along the way. But to ensure a habitable planet for our children, there is no other option. 

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits, businesses, and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.