鶹Ƶ’ssays the dire consequences if we fail to act immediately to curb global climate change have never been more clear, based on the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
“It’s definitely not a surprise to anybody who’s been paying attention,” saidKinter,the director of 鶹Ƶ’s(COLA)within the.
The report stated in previously unseen high certainty that rising global temperatures,as a result ofunchecked human burning of fossil fuels, will lead to more life-threatening weather phenomena, such as the extreme droughts that make conditions ripe for large-scale fires, severe storms, rising sea levels and the eventual extinction of some species.
Earth’s climate is changing faster than at any timeoverthe past two million years.Withoutchanges, theplanetwill warm by more than2 degrees Celsius and possibly as much as 3.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, the report stated.
Kinter, whospoke about the report at a recent,remained hopeful thathumankindwill act while it can.
“We have to stop emitting carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere,” he said, “and we have to do it within the next 20 years or so. Then wehave tofind a way to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a big way. These are all things we know how to do—we just need the will to do it.”
Jim Kintercan be reached atikinter@gmu.edu.
For more information, contactJohn Hollisjhollis2@gmu.edu.
鶹Ƶ George 鶹Ƶ
鶹Ƶ is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., 鶹Ƶ enrolls 39,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. 鶹Ƶ has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity andcommitment to accessibility.