Yet Another Hottest Year as World Blows Past 1.5⁰ C

That's not the kind of newsletter, social media, or blog post item we like to see or share.

Yet this is “climate reality” these days, about which it’s vital to understand, educate others, and support climate mitigation and adaptation actions regardless of ongoing and new challenges from every direction including those corporate, political, economic, and cultural. 

It’s no answer to succumb to disenchantment, despair, and disengagement, even though that’s apparently desired by some corporate chieftains and newly visible kleptocratic and autocratic oligarchs corruptly trading money and political support for deregulatory advantage, even as they abandon fact-checking and pollute communication platforms with distracting and misleading disinformation. 

An eyes-wide-open clear appreciation, by contrast, of the realities of this disinformation pollution as well as environmental pollution including the greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming, is a critical starting point for effective climate action strategies. That brings us to the reality that we will almost certainly miss the global climate targets established to date, and that the very framework established by the UN and the Paris Convention will likely suffer serious blows from the incoming US administration (which last time withdrew the US from the Paris Convention and has “drill baby drill” among “day one” priorities). 

The brutal truth is that we have blown through the goal of keeping global warming under 1.5⁰C (2.7⁰F) above preindustrial levels. Though we may want to hope to keep that laudable 1.5⁰C goal alive, it will be exceedingly hard to meet even the goals keeping global warming under 2⁰C (3.6⁰F) by century’s end or even “net zero” emissions by mid-century -- especially with reduced US domestic and global leadership from the federal level. The current path is now more likely 3⁰C (5.4⁰F) by century’s end, with all the associated increased harms, costs, and devastation to human rights, health, national security, and lives and livelihoods.

Without such challenges and threats created by certain dishonest and irresponsible political and business leaders over the decades, we would perhaps not be seeing the hurricane-level winds and drought of the sort fueling the devastating and tragic L.A. wildfires — on course to be the most expensive in history — among other escalating wildfires and extreme weather events such as floods, hurricanes, and heat waves. 

This is notwithstanding the massive torrent of absurd and all-too-often partisan ignorance or disinformation to the contrary asserting that the problems are supposedly caused simply by “bad state and local governance,” or too much “woke” Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI), ie black and brown leadership in office and at fire stations, etc.), or even wilder conspiracy theories about the government controlling the weather to intentionally inflict harm.

Los Angeles is already about 3⁰C higher than preindustrial levels, more than twice the 1.5⁰ prevailing global average today, conditions which will only exacerbate current negative feedback loops. Better to consider and pay now for protection against the human rights, public health, national security, and human lives and livelihood threats posed by climate change than pay the even greater costs later as those feedback loops increase catastrophic costs even further, with additional cities virtually wiped off the map in similarly apocalyptic fashion.

Continued pressure on Congress to preserve as much of the Biden administration’s clean energy federal action and investments will be indispensable, as will greater global action and climate finance in the wake of US retrenchment. Please click on those links from the Climate Reality Project to take action now – and spread them widely among your network.

“Bad state and local governance” (by Democrats) may not be the sole or primary cause of the unnatural, climate-driven wildfires, despite the ill-informed or dishonest partisan claims. Yet given the likelihood of continued polarization as well as feckless and unreliable federal action from the upcoming administration, there is much that regional, state, and local leaders both in office and in nongovernmental organizations and activists like ours can do. This includes continuing to highlight science-based facts and informed literacy regarding the role of climate change in such disasters and advocating for sensible regulations in the public interest.

Insurance premium increases, non-renewals, and cancellations are dramatically rising in such climate-affected areas, along with labor shortages and building costs. Sensible regulatory measures include stronger building codes, insurance regulations discouraging development in risky areas, and prescribed burns where appropriate. Also needed are much greater investments in infrastructure, community greening, and other adaptation to build resilience of vulnerable communities. Enhanced regional, state, and local official as well as unofficial people-to-people “citizen diplomacy” can also strengthen and share best practices and collaboration on technological and other pro-social adaptive innovation.

Despite all the dispiriting challenges, the situation is not hopeless if we educate ourselves and others and stand up for our rights and take collective action where possible. Former president the late Jimmy Carter offered such leadership during his long life, which our nation justly celebrated upon his passing. He did this not least by elevating human rights and being so ahead of his time when it came to environmental consciousness and actions. May he rest in peace and his memory be a blessing and inspiration to us all.

Keep the faith — and more importantly, keep up, protect, and expand on the good works even during the tough years to come!

Chip Pitts

Executive Committee Member

Climate Reality Project (DFW)

chippitts@icloud.com