Humans pumped 36 billion tons of the planet-warming gas into the atmosphere in 2021, more than in any previous year. It comes from burning oil, gas and coal.
The amount of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere broke a record in May, continuing its relentless climb, scientists said Friday. It is now 50 percent higher than the preindustrial average, before humans began the widespread burning of oil, gas and coal in the late 19th century.
So, even the "planning" process is fundamentally distorted by the desire to make climate "solutions" seem within reach, when no realistic, mathematically rigorous research has been done on the feasibility of these much-celebrated "mitigation pathways." Once again, the capitalist system's primary objective is shown to be protecting the capitalist system of consumption, growth, and profits. Capitalism or the future: WE CAN'T HAVE BOTH!!
Breaching limit would be temporary, but would give a taste of longer-term warming
The world faces a 50 per cent chance of warming 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, if only briefly, by 2026, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday.
That does not mean the world would be crossing the long-term warming threshold of 1.5 C, which scientists have set as the ceiling for avoiding catastrophic climate change.
More than 1,000 scientists across the globe chained themselves to the doors of oil-friendly banks, blocked bridges, and occupied the steps of government buildings on Wednesday to send an urgent message to the international community: The ecological crisis is accelerating, and only a “climate revolution” will be enough to avert catastrophe.
Policies in place to reduce emissions as of December 2020 would lead the planet to 3.2 degrees Celsius of warming, more than double the 1.5 degrees limit that scientists say is essential for avoiding the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
