Over 11,000 scientists from 153 countries have issued a report stating that the “Earth is facing a climate emergency.” In the report, which was published in the journal BioScience, the scientists claim that climate change is much more “severe than anticipated,” claiming that it threatens natural ecosystems. It also goes on to suggest that it could threaten the fate of humanity.
Titled ‘World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency,’ the paper’s authors provide indicators to measure the human influence on climate change. It also highlights six policy areas that need to be looked at to curb global warming. It comes the day after President Trump’s administration began the process of withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.
Despite the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the agreement, there are a variety of bills labeling climate change an emergency that have been making their ways up to the White House.
Several other countries have also declared a state of climate emergency. In the U.S., both San Franciso and New York have done the same.
However, the scientists who authored the report have said that we need to act faster. The paper suggests that the majority of indicators have largely been ignored for the past 40 years, and that humanity has failed to address global warming. It continues by saying:
“The climate crisis is closely linked to excessive consumption of the wealthy lifestyle,” it states. “The most affluent countries are mainly responsible for the historical GHG emissions and generally have the greatest per capita emissions.”
The report also goes onto outline six policy outlines that could have an impact on climate change, such as reducing the use of methane and other pollutants, restoring the Earth’s ecosystem, and more. Whether these will be implemented, however, is up to legislators, businesses, and other key decision-makers. The Earth continues to see record high temperatures and an increasing number of natural disasters worldwide.