While Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops illegally into Ukraine, another major climate crisis report came out with some disturbing projections about the effects of climate change. Thanks to its professional connections developed over the past few years, United Methodist Insight was among world media outlets granted access to the latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Just looking over the fact sheets prepared with the 3,500-page report proves daunting; there’s more to the scientists’ compilation that laypeople can comprehend in a single sitting.
However, some diligent reporters at the Washington Post, Brady Dennis and Sarah Kaplan, went through the big document and distilled its essence to five items useful for all United Methodist creation care advocates. Please read the in-depth report at some point, but here the five top items excerpted from WashPo’s daily “The 7” newsletter:
1. Some climate effects are already baked in.
“Humanity has pumped more than a trillion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere since the late 19th century, fueling an average global temperature rise of more than 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial levels.
“… Even if humanity meets the more ambitious goal of the Paris agreement — limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels — scientists project the demise of most coral reefs and the irreversible loss of glaciers and polar ice by the end of the century.”
2. It's not too late to prevent some of the potential suffering
“Despite these irreversible effects, the report emphasizes that humanity still has time to act to stave off more suffering in the future.
“In addition to mitigation, which involves making deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, scientists say humanity must make significant investments in adaptation, which entails coping with the consequences of a warming Earth.
“For example, investments in infrastructure would reduce the damage inflicted by extreme weather. And investments in public health would prevent the spread of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, which have flourished as the world warms and mosquitoes roam beyond their current habitats.
“Scientists estimate that for every dollar spent on resilience and adaptation, countries could save at least $4 over time.”
“Our climate, our communities and our faith compel us to call for bold and just action. We have a moral responsibility as a nation, and a sacred task as people of faith, to care for our climate and to leave a safe and thriving world for future generations,” said Elizabeth (Liz) Chun Hye Lee, UMW’s environmental executive, in a press release. “That is why Congress must pass a package that ensures $550 billion in investments to deliver on climate, justice, jobs and clean energy.”
Back to the Washington Post’s distillation:
3. Warming is widening inequities between rich and poor nations
“Many developing countries have released little carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, yet they are most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis. The report makes clear that these inequities will persist as the world warms.
“Even under moderate scenarios for sea-level rise, the coastlines of most Pacific Island nations would be flooded. And under the worst-case scenario for global temperature rise, Africa — which is historically responsible for less than 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions — would see a 118-fold increase in exposure to extreme heat. By contrast, heat exposure in Europe would increase only fourfold.”
United Methodists in Africa, the Philippines and parts of Europe along with U.S. coastal cities are already being affected by sea level rise. People everywhere,are being hit by extreme weather events such as the recent floods in eastern Australia.
4. The climate crisis is intertwined with the biodiversity crisis
“Global warming is already threatening plants and animals by shifting seasonal weather patterns and intensifying habitat-destroying disasters. If global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), 10 percent of all plant and animal species could face a high risk of extinction, the report says.
“At 3.2 Celsius (5.8 Fahrenheit), a quarter of all salamanders could go extinct. By 4 Celsius (7.2 Fahrenheit), half of the Amazon rainforest could be lost.”
5. The time to act is now
“For all of the sobering statistics in the report, its overarching message is not one of hopelessness, but of urgency to act ….
“Humanity still has a limited window to overhaul the way energy is generated, the way cities are designed, and the way food is grown — changes that ultimately could save trillions of dollars and millions of lives.”
The urgency of taking immediate action was broached two weeks before the latest IPCC report in a webinar, “The Best Climate Science You’ve Never Heard Of” sponsored by Covering Climate Now, an international collaboration, to which United Methodist Insight belongs, of some 400 news outlets committed to enhanced climate reporting.
According to climate scientist Michael Mann, Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University, “it turns out carbon dioxide levels drop as you stop emitting carbon into the atmosphere.”
That doesn’t mean that the “baked in” effects will be avoided entirely, Dr. Mann said, but climate change consequences such as sea level rise can be kept lower by reducing carbon warming as fast as possible. This gives new hope that the climate crisis can be mitigated sooner if immediate actions are taken. It’s up to faith-based advocates like United Methodists to spread this word of hope and urgency.
Climate and the State of the Union
Alternative energy
Prior to President Biden’s State of the Union address, Pew Research Center polled Americans about federal responses to the climate crisis, “Americans Largely Favor U.S. Taking Steps To Become Carbon Neutral by 2050” However, only 31% are willing to ride the USA of fossil fuels entirely. See chart from Pew Research Center.
Big changes are needed at all levels of human action, from major government policies to personal lifestyle changes. Jordan Robertson writes for The Washington Post: Here are 10 steps you can take to lower your carbon footprint.
Theologically it may seem like a stretch, but it doesn’t take a whole lot of imagination to see that stepping up our care of creation would fulfill God’s command that we be stewards of the Earth.
Media Mentions as of March 1, 2022
Can religion and faith combat eco-despair? – Religion News Service