The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), presented yesterday in Geneva, is a wake-up call. “This report is a stark warning of the consequences of inaction,” said IPCC Chairman Hoesung Lee.
The Paris Climate Agreement stipulates that global warming will be kept below 1.5 degrees by 2050 compared to the pre-industrial age. However, the around 270 experts came to a different conclusion in the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: They assume that the temperature will rise much more quickly. Her alarming statement: With the current development, the earth will be 1.5 degrees warmer by 2030. The window to reduce the effects closes “dramatically fast”.
The effects will be felt in the climate, the ecosystem and in society. An increase in heat waves, droughts and floods is forecast. Biodiversity will decrease. Poorer people would feel the rise in temperature more clearly. With an increase of three degrees, the consequences are even more dramatic: More deaths because people’s potential for adaptation is exceeded. Massive water shortages also in western, central and southern Europe and considerable losses in agricultural production.
Effects on Austria
Daniel Huppmann from the Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg analyzed the effects on Austria: Hotter summers are to be expected, which will affect older people in particular, and agriculture will have to struggle with conditions that are too dry or too humid depending on the region. In Austria too, despite the generally good drinking water situation, there will be water shortages. A sign of dry forests is the increasing infestation of bark beetles.
Austria lies between the dry Mediterranean climate, the humid northern European zone and the steppe climate that prevails in the east. Huppmann warned that something could very easily shift here. The Mediterranean weather could spill over the Alps. The biggest problem child in Austria is traffic, the expert warned and advocated less traffic space.
Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) spoke out in favor of phasing out fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources. Environmental NGOs such as Global 2000 and the WWF called for faster action.
Source: Nachrichten
