{"id":16241,"date":"2021-08-23T10:05:21","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T14:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=16241"},"modified":"2021-08-23T15:07:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T19:07:46","slug":"learning-from-the-latest-climate-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/learning-from-the-latest-climate-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning from the Latest\u00a0Climate Report\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth major report<\/a> on the science of climate change. Condensing scientific evidence from 14,000 studies,\u00a0its\u00a0findings\u00a0paint\u00a0a stark\u00a0view of\u00a0our future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using the strongest language ever used by IPCC scientists, the report confirms with \u201cunequivocal\u201d certainty for the first time that human activity continues to contribute to climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"bird
\u00a9 Declan Schweizer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It also issues a clarion call to avoid the worst-case scenario that otherwise looms ahead by enacting transformational changes to our energy, transportation, built environment, and land systems. As UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres says, the report is \u201ca code red for humanity…the alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IPCC\u2019s analysis of the latest climate science<\/a> shows four significant trends: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trend 1: Rise in Greenhouse Gases<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Human activities have caused observed increases in greenhouse gas concentrations since the Industrial Revolution. As of 2019, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were the highest they have been in two million years, and methane levels were the highest in 800,000 years. The report calls on countries to cut their methane emissions to most effectively limit temperature increases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trend 2: Warming Temperatures<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Global surface temperatures between 2011 and 2020 were 1.09\u00b0C warmer than between 1850 and 1900, and the past four decades have been the warmest of all decades since 1850. Since 1970, the global surface temperature has increased faster than any other 50-year period in the past 2,000 years. Among the report\u2019s most startling findings: warming exceeding 1.5\u00b0C as soon as 2040 is possible if swift action is not taken<\/strong>. This is at least a decade earlier than projected in earlier IPCC reports. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trend 3: Sea Level Rise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since 1900, the global mean sea level has risen faster than any other century in the past 3,000 years. Additional sea level rise and glacial melting are unavoidable: sea levels could increase by 2 feet by 2100 (as opposed to the 1.5-foot rise previously predicted). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trend 4: Links Between Climate Change and Extreme Weather <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Major improvements to methods that link climate change to extreme weather events show that the intense heat waves experienced across North America this summer\u2014such as 116\u00b0F in Portland, Oregon\u2014would be “virtually impossible” without humanity\u2019s influence on the climate system.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Road Ahead: Reason for Hope  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The IPCC makes clear that some climate change is irreversible\u2014our unrelenting reliance on fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution means a degree of warming that cannot be undone. This news can feel completely overwhelming.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we really do still have reason for hope: a chance to avoid the worst impacts of climate change remains. We have about one decade worth of emissions at current levels <\/strong>remaining in the \u201ccarbon budget\u201d to hold onto the chance of limiting warming to 1.5\u00b0C by 2100.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeting this carbon budget in the next decade will require swift, decisive, and transformational changes to our current way of doing business. We’ll be advocating for these changes\u2014and sharing opportunities for you to do the same\u2014every step of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Anna Mervosh<\/em> and Michelle Manion<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth major report on the science of climate change. Condensing scientific evidence from 14,000 studies,\u00a0its\u00a0findings\u00a0paint\u00a0a stark\u00a0view of\u00a0our future.\u00a0\u00a0 Using the strongest language ever used by IPCC scientists, the report confirms with \u201cunequivocal\u201d certainty for the first time that human activity continues to contribute to climate change.  It also issues a clarion call to avoid the worst-case scenario that otherwise looms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[178],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/08\/6269Declan_Schweizer31975-750x500-a0a32b6b-8dfc-4104-9594-461424a27abc.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-4dX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11738,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/a-closer-look-at-new-climate-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":16241,"position":0},"title":"A Closer Look at New Climate Report","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"October 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A new\u00a0special report\u00a0from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is waving a red flag on the effects of climate change. This report, written by over 90 scientists from 40 countries, warns that we need to make large-scale and rapid changes. Scientists say we must limit average global temperature rise\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Climate"","block_context":{"text":"Climate","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/10\/wellfleet750.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/10\/wellfleet750.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/10\/wellfleet750.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/10\/wellfleet750.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13007,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-role-of-land-conservation-in-fighting-climate-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":16241,"position":1},"title":"The Role of Land Conservation in Fighting Climate Change","author":"Alexandra Vecchio","date":"August 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The climate crisis often evokes images of coal-burning power plants, oil rigs drilling for fossil fuels, and congested roadways filled with gas-guzzling vehicles. But what about the land that surrounds us? 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On Black Friday, the Trump Administration released the Fourth National Assessment on Climate Change (NCA4), Volume 2. 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