<
**Your planet needs you! On 20. September 2019.**
## Why?
To put it clearly: if mankind doesn't start drastically reducing carbon emissions in **2020**, there will be basically no chance to reach the Paris agreement.
[1](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1167132740527042561)
[2](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1163720944982069248)
[3](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1167119243835576325)
[4](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1167121575373627393)
## Why should I care about the Paris agreement?
Climate scientist think, that warming of a maximum of 2 degrees compared to 1880, will keep earth in a comparable state to what humans know and can live in.
But a 2 degree warming already means for example: loss of **all** coral reefs, 24% of global population facing **water shortage**, six times higher chances of 100-year **flooding** by 2080, habitable ranges for plants and animals will decrease by 30-50% (**food supply** at risk).
[5](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1168797490893774848)
[6](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1168799873317113857)
## 2 degrees
If we miss the 2 degree target, it's very likely that we are not able to even limit warming to 3 degrees due to **tipping points** (see below).
If we manage to become carbon-neutral by 2050 and scale carbon capturing (removing carbon from the atmosphere), we have a **66%** chance of staying below 2 degrees warming. Want a higher chance? Act earlier and faster!
[7](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1163729742799003648)
[8](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1168799873317113857)
## Tipping points
There are several tipping points that, once reached, can't be undone.
If the **amazon rainforest** dies, one of the largest land-based carbon sinks becomes an emitter. Fueling global warming.
If the **Siberian permafrost** unfreezes, it will release **two times** as much carbon into the atmosphere as mankind already has emitted. Fueling global warming.
If the **Greenland ice** melts, the now sunlight reflecting white ice will become dark, muddy land that heats up instead of reflecting energy. Fueling global warming and contributing to sea level rise.
*All these processes have already started.*
If we are not able to limit global warming to a maximum of 2 degrees, they will inevitably contribute to global warming and push the earth system into a state that is literally **unknown to mankind**.
[9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system)
## Long lasting effect
Even if we stop all carbon emissions today, the carbon that's already in the atmosphere doesn't go away. It acts like a jacket, heating the planet. There's also a lot of heat and carbon stored in the oceans. In order to reduce this effect, we need to get carbon out of the atmosphere. For example by **planting trees**. But at first: we need to stop emitting.
[10](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1168795122936496128
)
## 4 or more degrees warming
4 degrees doesn't sound like much. But it's an average temperature. The last ice-age only was 4 degrees less compared to 1880. At the end of this period, mankind was almost extinct, leaving only a tribe of 15000 humans in Ethiopia alive.
[11](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1169900343582347264
)
A 4 degree warmer world is probably only able to feed 1 billion people. Currently, we're almost 8 billion. This is not going to happen in a distant future but by the end of this century, if we don't take drastic action **now**.
[12](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1163739206121938944)
[13](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1163724935409360896)
[14](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1163739206121938944)
[15](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1169895375638892545)
## Warming is one problem - the pace is another one
Currently we're heading towards 4-6 degrees warming over the next 100 years. Earlier temperature changes in earth's history took a lot longer. Like: 100 times longer.
Slower change gives nature time to react. Plants and animals can move north/south. Ecosystems can adapt. If they have time.
[16](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1169903068453818368)
[17](https://twitter.com/Jumpsteady/status/1169634986347114496)
## Are we doomed? What can I do?
To be honest, future doesn't look too bright. But it's not too late yet, although the window of opportunity is closing rapidly.
What you can do:
- educate yourself and others
- try to reduce your own carbon footprint
- talk to your politicians because individual reduction is good but can't solve the crisis alone
- connect to activist groups like "fridays for future" or "extinction rebellion"
*(data has been extracted from various climate scientist talks and interviews provided by https://twitter.com/jumpsteady - huge thanks for your work!)
]]>