The Guardian reports about a draft of the upcoming IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report that was leaked this week. The leaked draft shows that climate scientists are increasingly worried about tipping points – climate events that happen and can’t be reversed.
Examples of possible tipping points include: the melting of ice sheets at the north and south poles which could affect ocean currents including the Gulf Stream, melting of arctic permafrost which would release huge amounts of methane into the air, or the loss of the Amazon rainforest because it’s too hot for it to survive.
The new IPCC report includes warnings about tipping points. The Guardian quotes scientists who say that policymakers should be very concerned about tipping points because they can bring huge social and economic responses, such as migration/displacement of whole populations, or conflicts between countries.
The Guardian quotes a scientist who says that nothing in the report is a suprise, because it’s all from published science studies. But it’s a stark warning we need to act quickly. Another scientist notes that this is a problem we can fix – we’re not doomed. We know how, we just need to do it.
Read the Guardian article here.
07/02/2021
