Yesterday (2/28), the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) released its latest report. It states that “Human -induced climate change has caused widespread adverse impacts to nature and people” and also says “Taking action now can secure our future.” Note that it says we can secure our future – there’s still time. And remember that we have the power to influence our leaders.
The report documents that what we are seeing: increased heatwaves, floods, and droughts, are more than animals and plants can tolerate, and they are either going extinct or moving to new areas. These changes are also impacting our food and water security. The climate disasters and heat are driving people to migrate, both within and between countries. Surviving a disaster impacts people’s mental health, and repeatedly reading/viewing news stories causes major stress and anxiety. And like all things environmental, the impacts are felt most by children, lower wealth communities, and communities of color.
The report states that climate change is a threat to human well-being and also the planet’s wellbeing. This echoes what medical and health professionals are saying: CLIMATE CHANGE IS A HEALTH EMERGENCY. We need to act now, and we know that we can do it.
The report recommends strengthening nature as being key to a livable future. If ecosystems are healthy, then they and we are more resilient to climate change, and we can preserve the life-giving services nature provides, namely food and water. Strengthening nature is also good for our mental health.
The report also recommends adaptation and resilience now – countries should right now be building climate and disaster resilient infrastructure – we shouldn’t wait until a disaster has caused severe damage to build it stronger – we need to build it stronger now. And we need to act with justice, to strengthen communities (and countries) that have been excluded from the economic system for decades or centuries.
We still have time, we are still under 1.5C — if we act quickly and reduce emissions, we can keep it from getting worse than what we are seeing now. Remember that there is hope – if we connect with others, if we act together, if we talk to our children, we can make a difference.
Resources:
An article from Mary Democker about talking to children and what works for educating children about climate.
The IPCC report press release (this is the most succinct).
The IPCC summary for policy makers (longer, has a link to fact sheets about the report).
The full IPCC report.
News articles from Reuters, the Associated Press, The Guardian, PBS, and NPR.
Learn from our team collaboration on how to hold your own action event.
03/01/2022
