Catastrophic effects of climate change are ‘dangerous yet to be discovered’, experts warn | Climate news
More research is needed on how climate change leads to social collapse or human extinction, the researchers said, warning of such potentially catastrophic results. as “undiscovered danger”.
An international team of experts led by the University of Cambridge says there isn’t enough research into the worst-case scenario, although there are “many reasons to suspect that climate change could lead to a catastrophic disaster.” global catastrophe”.
Writing in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they say analyzing the extreme consequences of climate change can “stimulate action, improve resilience and provide policy information”.
They have called on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to issue a future report on catastrophic climate change.
Lead author Dr Luke Kemp, from Cambridge’s Center for Existential Risk Research, said: “There are many reasons to believe that climate change could turn out to be catastrophic, even with warming in modest level.
“Climate change has played a role in every mass extinction event.
“It helped fall empires and shaped history.
“Even the modern world seems to be adapted to a particular climate.
“Pathways to disaster are not limited to the direct effects of high temperatures, such as extreme weather events.
“Direct impacts such as financial crises, conflicts and new disease outbreaks can trigger other disasters and hinder recovery from potential disasters like nuclear war.”
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The consequences of 3C warming and its extreme risks remain unexamined, the researchers say.
They have proposed a research program that includes what they call the “four horsemen” of the climate endgame: famine and malnutrition, extreme weather, conflict and vector-borne diseases transmission.
Co-author Professor Johan Rockstrom, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said: “The more we learn about how our planet works, the greater the reason for concern.
“We increasingly understand that our planet is a more delicate and fragile being.
“We have to calculate the disaster to avoid it.”
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