The most recent IPCC’s report states that between 3.3 - 3.6 billion people currently live in areas that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change [1]. This means that almost half of the world’s population is currently at risk from extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, wildfires, and tropical storms to name just a few. These people are already at risk given our planet is now 1.1°C warmer than in preindustrial times [2], caused by the increasing concentration of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere.
IPCC (2021) Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis
Global CO2 levels are at the highest point for at least the last 2 million years [3]. We have already overstepped the climactic planetary boundary and find ourselves securely in the zone of uncertainty [4], where we are yet unaware of the risks we face. As we begin to better understand the risks, the picture only gets bleaker, more research is highly unlikely to find a silver lining to climate change or a silver bullet to protect us from it. The greatest risks are those associated with tipping points that would begin the start of an unstoppable global cascade reaction, once one of these tipping points is triggered, the global climate system is likely to break down independently of any action we take to stop it [5].
IPCC (2021) Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis
The most recent Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) stated at COP26 give the world a 1.5% chance of achieving the 1.5°C Paris goal [6]. Current policies and actions from governments will result in around 2.7°C by the end of the century [7]. Beyond 1.5°C of warming, the direct risk to human civilisation increases in a non-linear fashion, with compounding risks only exacerbating issues such as food security, public health and how to provide the foundation for a prosperous global economy.
As the NDCs put forward by governments are woefully inadequate to guarantee a safe and equitable future for all people on this planet, we must do all that is within our power to keep global warming below 1.5°C. Setting targets to go Net-zero in the future will not guarantee a safe planet to live on, we must go Climate Positive today.
CLIPOP is here to galvanize climate action, inspiring everyone to do what it takes to ensure future generations can exist on a planet that can provide for their needs. It also provides the necessary framework to understand what it means to be Climate Positive and what each company needs to do to get there. By being Climate Positive with CLIPOP, you aren’t just mitigating your own footprint, you’re actively cleaning the atmosphere from the overabundant warming gasses that were put there before you were born, ensuring your children inherit a safer world than you did.
For more information or to register your company as Climate Positive, please contact info@clipop.org
[1] https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02179-1
[3] https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM_final.pdf
[4] https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html
[5] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03595-0#ref-CR4
[6] https://www.science.org/stoken/author-tokens/ST-148/full
[7] https://climateactiontracker.org/publications/glasgows-2030-credibility-gap-net-zeros-lip-service-to-climate-action/