As if to emphasize the point US Person made in his previous post about Europe embargoing Russian petroleum, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a bleak warning: its now or never to reduce carbon emissions if the catastrophic effects of climate changer are to be avoided. The panel, made up of the world's leading climate scientists, said climate change is already disrupting lives and devastating the natural world, making many areas unlivable. A report co-chair wrote, "Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a livable future.” However, current CO₂ emissions are on a trend to exceed the agreed upon limit of 1.5C over pre-industrial levels to escape a global climate catastrophe.
The report catalogues the dire effects of climate change ranging from increased and intensified storms, rising sea levels, drought, wildfires, starvation, and mass extinction of species. Some countries have agreed in principle to reserving 30% of Earth's surface for Nature, but scientists now say that up to 50% maybe necessary to allow natural systems to recover from the damage man has inflicted on the planet. Big corporate emitters and their investors seem unmoved by repeated scientific warnings as emissions increase, instead of decrease. Now, emissions must be halved by 2030 at the latest. But when the big news is Elon Musk buying a controlling share of Twitter, Earth is simply running out of time. Climate change in the words of one climate scientist, and ultimately shake the very pillars of human civilization.” Even if global warming is kept below 1.6C by 2100, humanity will lose 8% of its farmland due to climate change.