There's No Quitting the Climate Fight

"Among this year's stark headlines is the "significant weakening" of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current, better known as the Gulf Stream, the collapse of which "could trigger abrupt and irreversible climate disruptions" and "initiate cascading tipping events, amplifying the impacts to a catastrophic level" (some of which "may already be occurring"). Another: the risk of a long-feared "hothouse Earth trajectory" (in which global heating becomes unstoppable) appears to be increasing as a result of "accelerated warming, self-reinforcing feedbacks, and tipping points."

"The report's opening paragraph cuts to the chase: "This unfolding emergency stems from failed foresight, political inaction, unsustainable economic systems, and misinformation." Surging extreme weather disasters globally, it notes, have amounted to more than $18 trillion in damages since 2000. Taken together, the authors write, "These recent developments emphasize the extreme insufficiency of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mark the beginning of a grim new chapter for life on Earth.""

Significant weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current (Gulf Stream) could trigger abrupt, irreversible climate disruptions and initiate cascading tipping events, some of which may already be occurring. The probability of entering a long-feared "hothouse Earth" trajectory is increasing due to accelerated warming, self-reinforcing feedbacks, and tipping points. The unfolding emergency results from failed foresight, political inaction, unsustainable economic systems, and misinformation. Surging extreme weather disasters have caused more than $18 trillion in damages since 2000. Global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions remain extremely insufficient, marking the beginning of a grim new chapter for life on Earth. Ongoing climate response and advocacy face mounting emotional and operational strain.

Read at The Nation