There is no separating environment and climate. This June 5th, World Environment Day, we acknowledge that the changes we have made – and go on making – to our climate are having devastating effects on the environment. Protecting the climate is protecting the environment – and keeping our planet liveable. If we don't halt runaway climate change and reverse the warming trend, a lot of us may not be around to worry about the rest.
COP30 in Brazil ended without a mention of the need to phase out fossil fuels, in spite of growing damage from climate warming impacts. These UN negotiations have to be reshaped, the influence of the fossil fuel industry reduced while the transition to a low-carbon world speeds on elsewhere.
The situation for planet earth was looking bleak. There was more of those dangerous heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere than ever before (and the records could go back way beyond the bounds of human history, looking into the earth, the oceans and the ice.) The planet had become a hothouse. The ice at the poles …
As I started work on this post, on December 23rd, the thermometer here in north-western Germany showed 14° Celsius. I’ve long given up dreaming of a White Christmas in this part of the world, but roses and honeysuckle in bloom in mid-winter? 2020 marked the close of the warmest decade (2011-2020) on record, according to …
Continue reading 2021: Future doesn’t just happen – It’s what we make it
The Ice Blog 