Humanity is Too Late to Stop Global Warming
Renowned American climatologist James Hansen, the first scientist to draw public attention to the acceleration of global warming in the 1980s, has released a new study stating that the Paris Agreement regarding greenhouse-gas emissions control will unlikely save humanity from the disastrous consequences of the current climate change.
The study details that current temperature averages are comparable to those of the interglacial Eemian period, that ended 115,000 years ago. At the time, the planet’s ice sheet was much thinner than it is now and the sea level is estimated to have been some nine meters higher.
The goal of limiting the average temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial-age levels, agreed by representatives of the world’s 195 recognized countries is deemed to be currently impossible, as it requires the application of technologies that have not yet been invented. Not only would all internal-combustion engines need to switch to biofuel immediately, but also excess carbon dioxide, already in the atmosphere, would have to be removed.
Hansen suggests that prompt steps must be taken, including the implementation of a carbon-emission tax on fracking companies and legal actions against governments, to press them to cut down emissions.
According to the Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals report, 81 percent of millennials, those aged 16-35 years, who comprise up to a third of the world’s population, strongly favour adhering to the Paris Agreement and taking urgent steps to mitigate the effects of global warming.
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