ECO Warriors
“A code red for humanity,” reacts the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres, in an article published on the organisation’s website, in relation to the UN Working Group’s report released in August 2021. “The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable.”
The report emphasises that human activities have warmed the climate at an exponentially unprecedented rate at least in the last two millennia. For example, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in 2019 were higher than at any time in at least two million years. Global surface temperatures in the recent decade surpass the most recent multi-century warm period from about 6,500 years ago, while the global mean sea level continues to rise rapidly. The report also shows that “emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1°C of warming between 1850-1900, and finds that averaged over the next 20 years, global temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5°C of heating”.
So, what does this data imply? At this rate, we are nearing the internationally agreed threshold of 1.5°C above pre-industrial global heating, and that the only way to prevent this from happening is by exerting more serious efforts in protecting the environment now. The solution, according to Guterres, is clear: “Inclusive and green economies, prosperity, cleaner air and better health are possible for all, if we respond to this crisis with solidarity and courage.”
In this issue, speaks with five eco-concious individuals
