Report: The Planet Is Getting Warmer, Faster

The Planet’s Increasing Warming Rate: Challenges and Implications

Two new data sets show world leaders will miss key targets to keep average global temperatures from rising. That’s bad news for vulnerable Black communities on the front lines of the climate crisis.

A new report found that Earth is warming too fast to meet targets that would avoid the worst effects of climate change. That means more Black workers and communities will suffer from severe weather, including deadly heat waves. Credit: Getty Images

Overview:

The latest Climate Action Tracker, coupled with a carbon budget study, shows Earth is quickly reaching the tipping point to avoid the worst effects of climate change: extreme weather events, which disproportionately harm Black neighborhoods that are less well-equipped to handle disasters.

As dignitaries and negotiators gather in Azerbaijan for COP29, the annual United Nations climate change conference — once again held in an oil-rich nation —  newly-published data shows the world is warming faster than ever, with no sign of slowing. 

A report published by Climate Action Tracker  estimates that the planet is currently on track for 2.7 degree Celsius of warming by the year 2100. That’s not only hotter than the goal set in the Paris Agreement but also blows past the 2-degree threshold that many climate scientists believed to be a more achievable limit for warming.

That means the vulnerable — including Black American communities — will remain on the front lines of climate change and continue to bear the worst effects of a warming planet. It’s increasingly likely that more Black workers will die from heat-related illnesses and more Black neighborhoods will suffer through extreme weather, including flooding and deadly storms. 

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A new version of the Climate Action Tracker is released every year, and the organization’s estimate has not budged since 2021.

“Time is running out to meet the Paris Agreement goals,” Pierre Friedlingstein, a professor at Exeter’s Global Systems Institute, said in a statement. His organization led a carbon budget study showing there is “no sign” that peak global CO2 emissions have been reached.  

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Keywords: Global warming, Climate change, Environmental impact, Rising temperatures, Greenhouse gases

#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #Sustainability