14th August 2022
Last year I suggested “Take a photo of the youngest person in your family. How old will that person be in 2030? By then we hope the world will have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% below 1990. This should keep the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C. Try and imagine what their world then will be like? Will summers be even hotter and even wetter than now? Will there be more and stronger storms and floods? Will houses be better insulated? Will they have been adapted to cope with heat waves? Will transport system be all electric? Will they have been adapted to cope with floods and landslides? Will there still be the same diversity of wild plants and animals that we see now or will some have been pushed out of their niche in the ecosystem by climate change? Will schools be solar powered? Will school leavers be finding jobs in a burgeoning green sector?”
Since then we have failed globally and are, according to the IPCC, on pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5C target. If we are to keep temperatures rises to 1.5C we must ensure that emissions peak by 2025 at the latest. Hopefully our lived experiences of global warming this summer will motivate us to take all necessary actions.
The Green Tau 