When the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was established in the 1990s, negotiators focused on greenhouse gas emissions, or GHGs. They discussed mitigation actions; ways to reduce GHGs. The landmark Kyoto Protocol of 1997 (at COP 3) emphasized mitigation, with commitments from developed countries to reduce their production of and reliance on fossil fuels. The 2015 Paris Agreement set the goal of a global temperature rise of no more than 1.5 degrees centigrade by 2050. This goal would be achieved only if developed countries - the major GHG emitters - transitioned significantly to renewable energy sources. This has not happened. Countries are expanding their use of renewables but not fast enough th meet the 1.5 degree goal. Consequently, negotiators now devote considerable time to discussing adaptation - how to deal with a warming world and its consequencxes, such as wildfires, drought, intense hurricanes and typhoons... These articles relate to the imp...
Hi Dr. Walker! I personally think that it is more of a crisis over an emergency. When I think about climate change, I start to think that most of the serious damage is starting to become irreversible. However, when you think of it that way, it starts to feel like there is nothing we can do to fix it. I found this article and I found it interesting and hopeful because it shows that there are ways we can fix the damage done and stop any more from happening: https://www.un.org/en/un75/climate-crisis-race-we-can-win
ReplyDeleteHi Dr. Walker. I think it is important how we label climate change since such labels shape how people view situations. Calling climate change a crisis puts emphasis on its importance and critical effects. These ideas are necessary when regarding climate change. Crisis's main difference with emergency is the connotation with time. Most people will think of a situation that needs immediate attention when thinking of an emergency, but these situations are typically resolved quickly. Climate change is not something that can be quickly resolved, but it is important and requires action. Taking these different connotations into account, I believe crisis more accurately describes climate change, but emergency encourages necessary urgency. Finding a word that encompasses both of these qualities would be ideal rather than choosing one. Here is an article that discusses climate change language that can be changed to promote support and clarify information: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-right-words-are-crucial-to-solving-climate-change/
ReplyDeleteHi Dr Walker, I believe the term for me, should be climate crisis. For some background, this is very serious for me because I am from Hawaii. Not only Hawaii will be eaten by the ocean but also other continents. Another big reason Is that I agree with Kaya Bitz, Crisis's main difference with emergency is the connotation with time. I think that nobody should go into a emergency but rather be educated in this topic.
ReplyDeleteAn argument I often hear against climate change being called a climate emergency or climate crisis is that it seen as a tactic to cause people to be unnecessarily afraid. However, I don't think the purpose of changing the topics name is to create fear and is to instead get across the urgency of the situation. When discussing the environment, I often hear climate crisis used to describe the current situation, but believe this term no longer has the same urgency and the term climate emergency might be more effective at getting people to understand.
ReplyDeleteI believe that climate change is the name of the overall issue, but the terms climate crisis and emergency provide a better description overall by making the term more broad. We are just discovering how much climate change really is effecting in total, hence the change from global warming, so calling it a climate crisis or emergency would not only future proof the name against any other recent findings but it would also raise more of an alert to people that this is a serious issue that people need to focus on. Emergency demonstrates the urgency and limited time that this issue provides us, while crisis is a little broad and doesn't highlight the time urgency the same.
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