Politicians failing to grasp ‘scientific reality’ of climate: expert

For political scientist Francois Gemenne, recent trends are worrying. Wavering ambition by governments and a growing belief that science is politically subjective are great causes for concern in a rapidly escalating climate crisis, an expert told AFP. A cascade of extreme weather events have inflicted devastation in 2023, which the European Union's climate monitor says

Liked this post? Share with others!

Hexbyte Glen Cove

For political scientist Francois Gemenne, recent trends are worrying.

Wavering ambition by governments and a growing belief that science is politically subjective are great causes for concern in a rapidly escalating climate crisis, an expert told AFP.

A cascade of extreme weather events have inflicted devastation in 2023, which the European Union’s climate monitor says is likely to be the hottest in human history.

It underscores the urgency of slashing planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions to avert the catastrophic impacts of greater global warming.

Yet several countries have drawn criticism for moves to weaken their in recent weeks, including Sweden and Britain, which has also approved a new oil project.

Meanwhile in the United States, climate-skeptic —notably Donald Trump—are Republican frontrunners.

For Francois Gemenne, a who contributed to the last report series of the UN’s expert advisory panel, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the trends are worrying.

“I am very concerned by a whole series of climbdowns we are seeing from a political or economic point of view,” the Belgian told AFP.

The IPCC lead author cited British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s latest policy changes and leading Republican politicians in the United States “who do not recognize the scientific reality of “.

“What bothers me is the fact that science, for a part of the population that might be growing, is becoming a matter of belief, opinion, even ideology,” said Gemenne.

Current climate-related damage is happening with at around 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and as the world lurches towards breaching the key 1.5C target agreed in Paris in 2015.

Gemenne warned that climate trends may even exceed the predictions of some modeling, describing the situation as a “merciless machine”.

The climate chaos may prove that humanity has not yet fully grasped the “deeply structural character” of climate change, he added.

“Until we reach carbon neutrality, heat records are going to be systematically broken week after week, month after month, year after year. It’s possible that reality goes a little beyond the models.”

Hexbyte Glen Cove Fighting ‘climate inertia’

One of the trickiest challenges governments face is weighing the urgency of climate action and the investments needed for the green transition against short-term challenges: global inflation, an driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and squeezed household budgets.

There is a perception that fighting climate change implies giving up on luxuries taken for granted in much of the wealthier parts of the world, such as high levels of consumption, air travel or eating meat.

But in the face of this “climate inertia”, Gemenne believes people must be shown how is in their interest.

“We always describe it as a list of efforts to make, sacrifices, giving up, things we do not really feel like doing,” he said.

“We must show why it is in our interests and therefore how life can change for the better.”

© 2023 AFP

Citation:
Politicians failing to grasp ‘scientific reality’ of climate: expert (2023, September 29)
retrieved 30 September 2023
from https://phys.org/news/2023-09-politicians-grasp-scientific-reality-climate.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes

% %item_read_more_button%% Hexbyte Glen Cove Educational Blog Repost With Backlinks — #metaverse #vr #ar #wordpress

Subscribe to our newsletter

Collect visitor’s submissions and store it directly in your Elementor account, or integrate your favorite marketing & CRM tools.

Do you want to boost your business today?

This is your chance to invite visitors to contact you. Tell them you’ll be happy to answer all their questions as soon as possible.

Learn how we helped 100 top brands gain success