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Information Booklet (view source)
Revision as of 06:37, 24 September 2021
, 06:37, 24 September 2021→Why are we in a climate and ecological crisis?
==== <big>Key points:</big> ====
==== <big>Key points:</big> ====
* '''Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, are causing the world’s temperature to increase. Rising global temperatures are affecting our climate and weather patterns in some ways that are irreversible'''<ref>[https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/ IPCC]</ref> '''– but some of the worst future consequences can be avoided depending on action taken today.'''
* '''Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, are causing the world’s temperature to increase. Rising global temperatures are affecting our climate and weather patterns in some ways that are irreversible'''<ref name=":16">[https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/ IPCC]</ref> '''– but some of the worst future consequences can be avoided depending on action taken today.'''
* '''As a result of pollution, climate change, destruction of natural habitats and exploitation, one million species of plants and animals are now threatened with extinction'''<ref>[https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/ UN Report: Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’]</ref>'''.'''
* '''As a result of pollution, climate change, destruction of natural habitats and exploitation, one million species of plants and animals are now threatened with extinction'''<ref>[https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/ UN Report: Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’]</ref>'''.'''
Climate change risks to food security and access are expected to become high between 1.2-3.5°C of warming. Very high between 3-4°C warming, and catastrophic at 4°C and above.
Climate change risks to food security and access are expected to become high between 1.2-3.5°C of warming. Very high between 3-4°C warming, and catastrophic at 4°C and above.
Rising CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations are expected to reduce the protein and nutrient content of major cereal crops, which would further reduce food and nutritional security<ref>[https://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34949/MPN_ESEN.pdf UNEP 2021, Making Peace with Nature], SPM Background Section 3.7 </ref>.
=== … water security? ===
Water security is measured by water availability, water demand and quality (levels of pollution) in water sources.
Pressure on ecosystems as a result of the ecological crisis has resulted in the depletion or degradation of freshwater sources.
About 80 percent of the world’s population already suffers from serious threats to water security<ref name=":16" />. It’s clear that climate change can affect the availability of water and threaten water security due to changes in rain patterns. In general, rain is increasing in tropical and high-altitude regions, and decreasing in the sub-tropics due to climate change<ref>IPCC 2014 WG II SPM A1, and Assessment Box SPM2 Table 1</ref>. In 2017, around 2.2 billion people did not have access to safely managed drinking water. More than 2 billion people globally live in river basins suffering water stress, where the need for freshwater exceeds 40 percent of what is available. In some countries in Africa and Asia, needs exceed 70 percent of the freshwater available<ref name=":17">[https://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34949/MPN_ESEN.pdf UNEP 2021, Making Peace with Nature,] SPM Section 4.2 </ref>.
Lack of access to clean water is also a food security issue, as the primary use of freshwater worldwide is for watering crops (irrigation), currently accounting for 70 percent of freshwater withdrawals<ref name=":4" />. About 1.2 billion people live in areas where severe water shortages and scarcity challenge agriculture<ref>[http://www.fao.org/3/cb1447en/online/cb1447en.html#chapter-executive_summary Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN]</ref>. Over the last century, population growth, industrial and agricultural activities and living standards have created more demand for water across the world<ref name=":17" />.
Wetlands are being lost globally, threatening water quality in many regions of the world.
=== … land-based biodiversity and ecosystems? ===
Ecosystems are the planet's life-support systems, for the human species and all other forms of life. Over the past decades, humans have changed natural ecosystems rapidly and extensively. This transformation of the planet has resulted in benefits for human wellbeing (for example, increased lifespan) and economic development, but not all regions and groups of people have gained from this process, and many have been harmed. The full costs of these gains are only