Scientists See Catastrophe in Latest Draft of Climate Deal

While not surprising, given the politics of climate change at the international level, these latest warnings from scientists should be even more cause for alarm.

Scientists who are closely monitoring the climate negotiations said on Friday that the emerging agreement, and the national pledges incorporated into it, are still far too weak to ensure that humanity will avoid dangerous levels of climate change.

Climate advocates have been pushing for an even tighter target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, which would essentially spell the end of the fossil fuel hegemony of the globe. Not surprisingly, this was rejected by industry friends and their allies in international governments around the world. While the draft had 1.5 C mentioned, the final text fell back on the weak goal of 2 C, a goal which itself is already an impossibility to reach, especially by 2030.

As activists and scientists warned as the climate talks came to an end, “the deal could be weakened further in overnight talks, leaving humanity flirting with extreme danger – rising seas that could swamp island nations and flood many of the world’s coastal cities, intensified droughts and storms, and possibly a collapse of food production as the planet warms to intolerable levels.”

Sadly, this is essentially what the final outcome left us with. A lot of empty promises of good action, lots of important detailed left for later, and a lot of back patting about how good of a job the suits did in Paris to save the world. But as the scientists have warned us, these actions are too little, too late.

You can read more about the views of scientists at the NY Times article here, Scientists See Catastrophe in Latest Draft of Climate Deal.