Earth is headed toward several catastrophic climate 'tipping points,' study warns
Show Caption
The climate keeps changing, despite the Trump administration's attempt to silence the entire phenomenon.
A new study out April 23 reports that the world is on course to trigger several climate "tipping points" if policies stay on their current course.
These points of no return are specific moments when the planet has warmed so much that certain effects become irreversible.
Scientists assessed the risk of 'tipping' in 16 different parts of the Earth system – ranging from the collapse of major ice sheets to the "dieback" of tropical coral reefs and vast forests.
'Climate tipping points could have devastating consequences for humanity," said study co-author Tim Lenton, from the University of Exeter's Global Systems Institute in the United Kingdom. "It is clear that we are currently on a dangerous trajectory – with tipping points likely to be triggered unless we change course rapidly."
What is a 'tipping point'?
A 'tipping point' occurs when a small change tips a system into a new state, causing significant and long-term transformation. The debate about tipping points in the climate system has intensified over the past two decades, according to the study.
What are some of the tipping points?
Tipping points mentioned in the study include collapse of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets; coral-reef die-offs; Amazon rainforest loss; lack of winter sea ice in the Arctic; abrupt permafrost thaw; mountain glacier loss; and collapse of a key Atlantic current that could affect climate worldwide.
Trump administration takes aim at climate change
The Trump administration is continuing to pursue its pledge to prioritize American energy independence and scale back the federal government's plans to understand and prevent climate change.
Among other actions, the president has withdrawn the U.S. from the landmark Paris climate agreement.
A key element of his plan is to boost the use of American-sourced fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, which emit the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.
What can we do?
Could the ocean be our solution to climate change?
Ocean alkalinity enhancement, if scaled up, could make a meaningful difference in fighting global warming.
'We need urgent global action – including the triggering of 'positive tipping points' in our societies and economies – to reach a safe and sustainable future," Lenton said.
As for actions that individuals can take, Lenton said to "eat less meat .... A quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions are linked to diet choices and associated farming practices. It's better for your health as well – most US and European consumers are eating an unhealthy amount of animal protein that increases risk of colorectal cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It's also better for nature – the major cause of net loss of nature worldwide is meat-eating, especially beef as it is a really inefficient way of using land to feed ourselves."
He said individuals can also choose to adopt renewable energy (such as rooftop solar) since the power sector is another quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions.
People can also choose to adopt electric vehicles since road transport is responsible for about 12% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, Lenton said.
There is some good news
The study also found that carbon released by certain tipping points (such as Amazon rainforest dieback and permafrost thaw) is unlikely to cause enough warming to trigger other tipping points.
The emissions from those points are not sufficient to trigger what is called a 'tipping cascade," study lead author Jakob Deutloff said, where one tipping element triggers the next one.
'The good news from our study is that the power to prevent climate tipping points is still in our hands,' said Deutloff, also of the University of Exeter. 'By moving toward a more sustainable future with lower emissions, the risk of triggering these tipping points is significantly reduced."
The new study was published April 23 in the journal Earth System Dynamics.
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