Don't overstate 1.5 degrees C threat, new IPCC head says – DW – 07/30/2023
www.dw.com
Jim Skea, the new head of the UN's IPCC climate panel, said it was not helpful to imply that temperature increases of 1.5 degrees Celsius posed an existential threat to humanity.

In short, we aren’t on track to an apocalyptic extinction, and the new head is concerned that rhetoric that we are is making people apathetic and paralyzes them from making beneficial actions.

He makes it clear too that this doesn’t mean things are perfectly fine. The world is becoming and will be more dangerous with respect to climate. We’re going to still have serious problems to deal with. The problems just aren’t insurmountable and extinction level.

  • @assassin_aragornOPEnglish
    3•1 year ago

    I mean there was a direct scientific report that the UN released earlier this year which did say we aren’t on the path to extinction – but also that modest increases to temperature are more significant than we originally thought.

    I think there’s reason to believe we’re not in the absolute worst case scenario, and regardless of however else the IPCC has been bearish, it’s a good point that we should keep rhetoric in check. You can already see several people giving up and saying there’s no point. Let scientists say for themselves what the data concludes, and leave it there.