2050 A DAY IN THE LIFE
LOW WARMING SCENARIO
2050: the world stuck to its climate ambitions and successfully drove down greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 onwards. Most countries, including the UK, achieved net zero emissions on target, but historical greenhouse gases mean the earth is now 1.3C warmer than pre-industrial temperatures.
It’s 6am when your sleep assistant wakes you by tuning into the radio and gradually dialling up the brightness of your bedside lamp. When you bought it, the shop assistant promised the device would monitor your sleep rhythms and rouse you at the optimal moment but, judging by your morning grogginess, you’ve been ripped off.
It’s early December and there’s a chill in the air, so you reach up to the control panel above your bed and click the heating on. Two floors below, you hear the heat pump whir and your well-insulated room quickly fills with warm air. The DJ plays a teaser track from Adele’s upcoming album, 60 , as you throw on a robe and marvel at her stamina.
Pulling back the curtains, you’re relieved to see that two straight weeks of torrential rain have finally ceased, with the sun straining through a thin grey cloud. The radio news bulletin says last week’s flooding almost breached barriers in York and parts of London, and you think of Susan, who came to the co-living complex a decade ago after her home in Fairbourne, Wales, was reclaimed by the sea. You feel lucky to have chosen to live here. Most of your housemates have stories like this – hurricanes, wildfires, floods and typhoons forcing them from their homes.
‘Fake-on’ and co-living
Your thoughts are interrupted by the smell of bacon wafting in from the kitchen, reminding you that the best cook in the building is on breakfast duties. Today’s meal
