THE FINAL WAKE-UP CALL

Just released: The newest IPCC Synthesis Report issues a final warning. The term ​“global warming” is an understatement. Our planet is overheating at a pace faster than we can adapt to. Governments cannot delay or mitigate any longer without risking a liveable future for all. The good news? We have a guide, the tools and the resources to avoid imminent catastrophe.

For the past 30 years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been publishing one harrowing report after another on the state of the planet. Meanwhile, the window of opportunity to prevent further global warming is rapidly closing, so when will our governments wake up?

Natural disasters are no longer the exception.

The past year has set a milestone in natural disasters. Entire villages in Bangladesh, Pakistan, to California were swept away by torrential rainfall and flooding. Forest fires ravaged millions of hectares and homes across Greece and Spain. Droughts are causing life-threatening water shortages, with harvests plummeting across the Horn of Africa, Italy and the US.

Italy is facing its worst drought in 70 years with its lakes and rivers at an all-time low. Meanwhile, millions are fleeing the rapidly expanding desertification in the Horn of Africa. For the first time in history, the Alps were snow bare at the height of the skiing season. The climate is changing at an unprecedented pace.

Climate Justice.

Across the world, hundreds of scientists collaborated for the past eight years, compiling what should be every government’s Bible if we want to avoid a full-scale catastrophe. However, unless the global governmental community fails to collectively implement an immediate and radical decarbonisation of all sectors within this decade, the following 2030 report will face a post‑1,5‑degree reality.

Internally displaced people are already at the frontline of climate change. Africa alone hosts over one-third of the global forced displacement. Those living in climate hotspots, where living conditions are becoming increasingly hostile due to global warming, lack the funds and resources to adapt. Climate destabilisation acts as a multiplier, exacerbating tensions and conflicts with both humans and animals struggling to survive. ​“Climate justice is crucial because those who have contributed least to climate change are being disproportionately affected”, said Aditi Mukherji, one of the 93 authors of this Synthesis Report.

Therefore, the responsibility to act lies with those holding the resources and financial means to initiate the great transformation. It requires a collective effort and a system overhaul that must be spearheaded by industrialised nations. The Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, stated that ​“rich countries must try to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions until 2040 and not 2050”, which they pledged. He also called for an immediate stop to funding coal extraction.

The time to heal is now.

As the poet Rupi Kaur wrote,

“Look at what they’ve done
the earth cried to the moon
they’ve turned me into one entire bruise
- green and blue”

We have battered and bruised that which sustains us, leaving scars of extraction in our wake to fuel our short-sighted hunger for profit and overconsumption. While these profits land in the pockets of the few, millions are already facing an existential crisis if business as usual continues. Our use of unsustainable energy, land and resources, our lifestyle choices, and patterns of (over)consumption and production, particularly in the Global North, have brought us to an existential crossroads.

The fashion industry must hold itself accountable and rethink and reform its existing structures, promoting overconsumption and overproduction at the cost of people and planet. The Hot or Cool Institute’s Report released earlier this year delivered quantifiable data showcasing that fashion-induced emissions of the wealthiest 20% across G20 nations are 20 times higher than that of the poorest 20%. According to this analysis, the richest 20% of the UK must reduce their fashion consumption footprint by 83% to reach the 1.5‑degree target of the Paris Agreement. According to their report, each individual can buy five new items per year and remain within the planetary boundaries. We have to personally redefine sufficiency, focusing on what we need vs what we want, demanding that the corporations pushing for fast and furious fashion rebuild their business models with the planet’s well-being at its core. Legislation has to enforce what the profit driven free market is unable to reign in.

The earth’s climate, ecosystems and societies are interconnected, and their destabilisation’s knock-on effects are beyond our comprehension. While procrastinating regeneration is no longer an option, the solution lies in climate-resilient development. Yet, this becomes more challenging to achieve with every increment of global warming.

Therefore, our choices now will decide the fate of future generations, and their farsightedness is imperative. ​“The pace and scale of what has been done so far, and current plans, are insufficient to tackle climate change,” the IPCC added. While it is still in our hands to change our current course, our immediate actions and legislative decisions will define how liveable our planet is in the near future.
The full report can be viewed here.