Reimagining The World
Many people do not realize the dire condition of the climate system, and the policies now needed to “turn the ship around” to return to a habitable planet. Addressing climate change is not simply a matter of technology. Returning to conditions of planetary stability will require a fundamental and decisive shift in perspectives.
A positive future requires imagining a different world
Current global policies take humanity to 2.5°C to 2.9°C of warming (4.5°F to 5.2°F) by the end of the century. This kind of warming risks triggering a variety of climate change tipping points, including the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheets, widescale permafrost thaw, and the die-off of low-latitude coral reefs.
Limiting warming to the 1.5°C limit set by the Paris Agreement requires imagining a different world and way of life. We must imagine a world where we wake up each morning focused on getting off of fossil fuels, restoring the environment, and protecting fundamental human rights. At a global level, governments would be focused on preparing a master plan to return to Holocene-like conditions, assisting vulnerable peoples and States, and fully committing to a world governed by international law and an international order that respects the equal rights and self-determination of all peoples.
This kind of transformation is necessary to limit warming.
Several different futures are possible today
The UN IPCC has made clear that the future could take several different paths—some of which will be more hostile to human life than others, and all of which will be determined by human decisions, particularly in high-emissions, high-developed countries.
High-emissions, high-developed countries must shift the focus of their economic and social systems towards a just transition off of fossil fuels, environmental restoration, removing emissions pollution from the atmosphere, and protecting human rights in a warmer world. They must also provide financial and technological support to climate-vulnerable peoples to help with the loss and damage caused by emissions pollution.
Cooperation and solidarity with vulnerable countries must become key values of the 21st century. An environmental and planetary consciousnesses must be cultivated. The relationship between environmental destruction, infringements on human rights, and the subjugation, discrimination, and destruction of peoples must be recognized, addressed, and subject to reparation.
If these things cannot happen, then the world will continue to warm, tipping points will be triggered, and humanity will face significant and severe environmental, social, and planetary challenges this century that may be impossible to manage in an organized way.