According to the UN’s scientific panel on climate change, human-induced warming has led global temperatures to rise 1°C average above preindustrial levels. This warming has led to some extreme weather events over the past decades. Global temperatures could climb to 1.5°C by 2040 if greenhouse gas emissions are left unmitigated. Impacts include 15% of the world facing extreme heat, an additional 350 million people facing drought, and frequent mass mortality of corals. As people concentrate in climate-vulnerable locations, e.g. cities, coastal areas and water- stressed regions, this extreme weather will result in more pronounced direct and indirect social, economic, political and security effects – crop failures, floods, wildfires, energy blackouts, infrastructure breakdowns, supply chain breakdowns, migration and infectious disease outbreaks – that are potentially devastating and irreversible. More than ever, events and decisions in one part of the world can influence the lives of those at the opposite end of the planet.
Did you know?
Most scientists agree that climate change is happening faster than predicted. More than one- third of the world’s soil, which produces 95% of the world’s food supply, is currently degraded. By 2035, outdoor air pollution is projected to be a top cause of environmentally related deaths worldwide, and half the world’s population will face water shortages.
IMD Speaks
“During his controversial campaign Trump called climate change a hoax and threatened to dismantle the US Environmental Protection Agency … and to lower restrictions on drilling and mining on federal lands. These actions will push the US sustainability agenda backward.” – Professor Francisco Szekely
