An international team of researchers warns in a new study that global warming will run out of control if we exceed 2°C degrees global warming. It will start a domino effect impossible to stop with fatal consequences for our life conditions. Climate action is urgent action.

 

“Our species has been on Earth for around 250,000 years, but we do not know yet if humans can thrive in the future climate”.

This is the clear-cut warning from professor Katherine Richardson from Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen. She is one of the scientists behind the new and widely debated study “Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene”, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The consequence of a warmer future will be, that large parts of Earth will become derelict for life as we know it today

Since the study was published last week, it has gained a lot of attention. And there is a good reason for this, because the study concludes that we are in over our heads, when it comes to climate change. According to its findings, human induced global warming could trigger a range of natural processes known as “feedback-effects” that will cause further warming of the globe, even if greenhouse gas emissions were stopped tomorrow. Because, the balance of eco-systems has already been pushed to a limit that can trigger very serious side effects.

“The consequence of a warmer future will be, that large parts of Earth will become derelict for life as we know it today,” Katherine Richardson says.

This is alarming news adding even more alarming new knowledge to the many hundreds of other studies also warning us that we are rapidly moving towards a tipping point where we will lose grip on our future. Just one month ago, The Secretary-General of The World Meteorological Organization Petteri Taalas issued a strong warning in The Sustainian: “It is time to implement the Paris Agreement. If we are not ambitious enough, we will reach 3°C to 5°C warming by the end of this century, not 1.5°C to 3°C, which was the target,” he said.

“Hothouse Earth”

This future scenario, the scientists behind the new study call “Hothouse Earth”, and this is a future, where the planet’s atmosphere will be replete with greenhouse gasses such as CO2, methane and N2O, that will cover the Earth like a global heating blanket.

The reports predict, that Earth could very well become 4°C-5°C degrees warmer, with 10-60 meters in sea level rise as a consequence

Man made climate change can very well turn out to be the first domino of natural processes and phenomena, that can make the current climate spin out of control and change in unpredictable ways. The closer global warming approaches a 2°C degrees increase, the bigger the likelihood will be that we will see processes like melting of permafrost, reductions in the planet’s snow cover and a decrease in the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2:

  • If the permafrost were to melt as a consequence of manmade climate change, according to Katherine Richardson, this would bring about a reinforcing effect on global temperature increases since it functions as a storehouse for methane. Thus, if it starts melting, this harmful gas will be released into the atmosphere.
  • The planet’s snow cover currently functions as a “heat sink” by reflecting rays from the sun back into space, but if it disappears, the earth’s ability to alleviate excessive heat will literally “melt away”.
  • The oceans will have increasing difficulties absorbing the large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. Under normal conditions air and sea relieve each other, but with the future climate changes and consequently higher temperatures, the oceans will not be able to keep up. This is because hot water retains CO2 less efficiently than cold water. This is also the reason that a lukewarm Coca Cola feels less sparkling than a cold one.

The outcome of the domino effect, where one climate change factor accelerates another, pushing to a third, fourth and so on, will be that the already large concentrations of greenhouse gasses will increase further and create a still hotter climate in the world. The reports predict, that Earth could very well become 4°C-5°C degrees warmer, with 10-60 meters in sea level rise as a consequence.