How much time do humans have left to curb climate change? It has been more than a year since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a warning that people all over the world must cooperate to reduce the warming of the Earth to 1.5 degree Celsius by the end of the century lest the planet dies. The goal was to ensure that people don't suffer even more on the impact of climate change.
"The goal would require a rapid, unprecedented change in how the world produces and uses energy, not to mention that this goal might be too far-reaching," IPCC said as a description to the kind of change that is required. Every nation member and its citizens must work together to achieve this.
Some politicians, however, said that they have given up on the fight because it is already too late. Besides, a huge part of the population over the world is not up for the task. While there are others who believe that we still have time to combat climate change, the time left is limited. People only have 12 years left to make that change and the clock right now is ticking.
There remains a question of whether or not the efforts that people exert is enough to really put a stop to climate change. The change is already happening in the environment and it has brought about a number of catastrophic loses. Things could only get worse and it means more lives would be put at risk. Climate experts say that if we want to put a stop to climate change, then people must be willing to give up their personal comfort and convenience to make it happen.
Something is brewing to happen 12 years after this report of the IPCC and it only looks like it is going to get worse. Some scientists have expressed their concern about the 12-year deadline that activists talk about. They fear that it might mislead the public and they might get a different understanding of the nuances of climate change.
The IPCC reported to the UN that the best path to battle climate change is to limit the contributing factors to the warming of the climate. This means reducing the human carbon emissions by 45% by 2030. Further down the line, the emissions should be cut down to a net of zero by 2050.
The public discourse on climate change could only get more complicated, with the warnings of it getting worse coming from the most trusted agencies. In The Guardian's Oct 2018 issue, their headline read "We have twelve years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN."
The world is not going to end soon. But the road into the future will be challenging, if not arduous.
