{"id":17552,"date":"2021-10-22T08:34:30","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T12:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/?p=17552"},"modified":"2021-10-22T08:34:30","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T12:34:30","slug":"un-research-shows-climate-change-is-a-code-red-for-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/2021\/10\/22\/un-research-shows-climate-change-is-a-code-red-for-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Research Shows Climate Change is \u201ca Code Red for Humanity\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, 2017. Photo via Shutterstock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Flavia Roscini<\/a><\/p>\n

Climate change is a challenge that can only be overcome if it is addressed at the international level. Global leaders have attempted to collaboratively mitigate climate change since 1972, and these negotiations produced several important accords, including the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2009 Copenhagen Accord. Over the years, however,\u00a0<\/span>political will behind these initiatives <\/span>has faltered<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For this reason, a new international agreement needed to be reached urgently. On December 12, 2015, the UNFCCC negotiations produced the\u00a0<\/span>Paris Agreement<\/span><\/a>, a global and legally binding framework wherein all developed and developing countries <\/span>are required<\/span><\/a> to c<\/span>ontribute to mitigating climate change<\/span>. One of the <\/span>most important<\/span><\/a> outcomes of the Paris Agreement is the objective to keep any temperature increase\u00a0<\/span>\u201cwell below\u201d 2\u00b0C and ideally, below 1.5\u00b0C<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, scientists <\/span>suggest<\/span><\/a> that\u00a0<\/span>important tipping points may have already been reached<\/span>, causing irreversible damage to the planetary climate system. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change\u2019s (IPCC)\u00a0<\/span>sixth assessment report<\/span><\/a> (AR6)<\/span>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>highlights that human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years<\/span>.\u201d Atmospheric CO2 concentrations were higher in 2019 than at any time in the last 2 million years, due to human activities that are responsible for <\/span>approximately\u00a0<\/span><\/a>1.1\u00b0C of warming between 1850-1900<\/span>. The AR6 provides \u201ca best-estimate that the world will pass \u2013 or temporarily \u2018reach\u2019 \u2013 1.5\u00b0C somewhere between 2030 and 2035, depending on the future emissions scenario.\u201d Worst-case projections indicate <\/span>global temperature <\/span>will rise<\/span><\/a> between 2.6\u20134.8\u00b0C by the end of this century<\/span>\u00a0if the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions continues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a <\/span>recent interview<\/span><\/a> with <\/span>Reuters<\/span><\/i>, Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), commented that \u201cthe world listened but didn\u2019t hear; the world listened but it didn\u2019t act strongly enough \u2013 and as a result, climate change is a problem that is here now.\u201d The global effects of climate change are no longer a dilemma for a future generation. Rather, the repeatedly ignored warnings over the past decades have become\u00a0<\/span>reality<\/span><\/a>, and the damaging effects of warmer temperatures are already affecting human health in every region on Earth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the IPCC report, the water cycle is undergoing significant change and \u201cextreme sea level events that previously occurred once in 100 years could happen every year by the end of this century,\u201d which in turn will affect \u201cboth ocean ecosystems and the people that rely on them.\u201d Coastal communities worldwide \u2013 including 11 of the 16 megacities with more than 15 million people each –\u00a0<\/span>risk being submerged underwater<\/span><\/a>\u00a0due to sea-level rise. Increased runoff will wash pollution into waterways, compromising drinking water and increasing the prevalence of\u00a0<\/span>waterborne diseases<\/span><\/a>. Extreme downpours will occur more frequently because of a warmer atmosphere. Perhaps one of the most visible and damaging signs of climate change is the catastrophic flooding that occurred in Europe this summer, which <\/span>killed more<\/span><\/a> than\u00a0<\/span>200 people<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The AR6 also found that\u00a0<\/span>severe heatwaves that previously occurred once every 50 years <\/span>will now<\/span><\/a> happen once per decade<\/span>. Speaking to NBC News, Karin Bumbaco, a Research Scientist at the University of Washington, <\/span>warns<\/span><\/a> that the recent record-breaking temperatures that soared well past 100\u00b0F across the US Pacific Northwest this summer are \u201c<\/span>certainly a preview of what we\u2019ll see more frequently in the future<\/span>.\u201d High temperatures not only cause more severe heat waves, but also increase the prevalence and intensity of wildfires, which emit an enormous amount of carbon, further exacerbating climate change. Such fires negatively impact temperature and air quality, leading to serious health consequences, like asthma, heatstroke and, in extreme cases, death. A recent study by Boston University Professor of Environmental Health Greg Wellenius <\/span>estimated<\/span><\/a> that\u00a0<\/span>5,600 deaths nationwide could be attributed to elevated temperatures each year<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In August 2021 following the release of the IPCC report, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General,\u00a0<\/span>warned<\/span><\/a> the findings were nothing less than \u201ca code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, there is still hope \u2013 the world can avoid the \u201c<\/span>harshest punishment<\/span><\/a>,\u201d but only if the international community commits to rapid mitigation strategies and deep emissions cuts. Guterres <\/span>argued<\/span><\/a> the report \u201cmust sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet\u201d and that \u201cthe only way to prevent exceeding this threshold is by urgently stepping up our efforts and pursuing the most ambitious path.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking to UN News, IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Panmao Zhai<\/span> says<\/span><\/a> \u201cstabilizing the climate will require strong, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and reaching net zero CO2 emissions. Limiting other greenhouse gases and air pollutants, especially methane, could have benefits both for health and the climate.\u201d To <\/span>Reuters<\/span><\/i>, Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization,\u00a0<\/span>commented<\/span><\/a> that \u201ccurrent plans by governments to cut their emissions could, if confirmed and implemented, limit global warming to 2.1<\/span>\u00b0<\/span>C.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview with <\/span>Thomson Reuters Foundation<\/span><\/i>, the lead author of the IPCC study, Dirk Notz, <\/span>spoke<\/span><\/a> of hoping \u201cboth society and policymakers really understand what is at stake here \u2013 that we are leaving the comfort zone of our climate system that we\u2019ve been living in for the past thousands of years and moving into completely uncharted territory.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Guterres is confident that \u201cinclusive and green economies, prosperity, cleaner air, and better health are possible for all,\u201d he also cautioned that the crisis must be responded to with solidarity and urgency. Will the international community listen this time?<\/span><\/p>\n

Flavia Roscini is an MA candidate in International Affairs with a specialization in International Communication at the Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies and a 2021 Summer in the Field Fellow. Learn more about the <\/span><\/i>Summer in the Field Fellowship<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Flavia Roscini Climate change is a challenge that can only be overcome if it is addressed at the international level. Global leaders have attempted to collaboratively mitigate climate change since 1972, and these negotiations produced several important accords, including the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18822,"featured_media":17592,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[398,156],"tags":[725,443,510,611,953,1376,952,961,1362,1363,1364,1377],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17552"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18822"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17552"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17601,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17552\/revisions\/17601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/gdp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}