Leading environmental experts have declared that the planet is on the brink of becoming irreparably damaged due to climate change unless drastic change is made within the next 18 months, according to a report by the BBC.
This new prognosis refutes previous estimates suggesting that we may have more than a decade to save the planet, placing current environmental policies under greater scrutiny than ever.
The revelation comes courtesy of an article by Environment correspondent Matthew McGrath, who reports that leading voices in the scientific community are growing increasingly concerned about the threat posed to planet earth.
According to McGrath, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder and now director emeritus of the Potsdam Climate Institute, has declared, "The climate math is brutally clear: While the world can't be healed within the next few years, it may be fatally wounded by negligence until 2020," while passionate environmental advocate Prince Charles stated, "I am firmly of the view that the next 18 months will decide our ability to keep climate change to survivable levels and to restore nature to the equilibrium we need for our survival."
The increased concern is largely due to the proposed target of keeping the rise of global temperatures below 1.5C this century.
However, recent reports suggest that, if we continue down our current path, we are on track to see a rise of 3C, spelling disaster for the entire planet. Experts suggest that in order to prevent this catastrophe, the 45% global carbon cutting target outlined in the 2015 Paris Climate Accords will now need to be met by the end of 2020, rather than 2030 as previously suggested.
Emphasising the importance of the 1.5C target, University of Melbourne climate science academic, Andrew King, told CNN, "This is concerning because we know there are so many more problems if we exceed 1.5°C global warming, including more heat waves and hot summers, greater sea level rise, and, for many parts of the world, worse droughts and rainfall extremes."
Despite the precarious situation, the political will to make lasting, sustained change remains patchy. The Trump administration remain entirely sceptical of the facts, despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary, and have been working behind the scenes to keep reporting by bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) under wraps. Despite the protestations on the right, however, it’s becoming abundantly clear to almost everybody that action needs to be taken. Judging by this development, it can’t come soon enough.
