CLIMATE CHANGE
The sixth mass extinction event is on its way.
by Tristen Taylor
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Along with all-out nuclear war, climate change is a serious threat to humanity. The situation is dire. We have missed the chance to limit emissions to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Two degrees is now inevitable, the Sixth Mass Extinction event is underway and Southern Africa is in a five-year climate change induced drought. Climate change is no longer a future event but is the now.
As a first step, we need an urgent transition away from coal—especially in China, India, Russia and South Africa—and the end to widespread deforestation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil. The pandemic cannot be used as an excuse to continue on or even increase the fossil fuel economy because of the imperatives of rapid economic growth based on cheaper energy. This is our moment to determine the fate of the planet. Let’s take it.
We missed our chance to limit emissions
Dr. Tristen Taylor, South African writer, researcher and academic.
OUR SPEAKER
Tristen Taylor
Dr Tristen Taylor is a South African writer, researcher and academic. He has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Johannesburg and completed post-doctoral studies in philosophy at Stellenbosch University. He was the director of the South African environmental organisation Earthlife Africa JHB from 2006 to 2016 and was the Africa representative on the board of the International Coal Network. Tristen publishes regularly in the Sunday Times, Mail & Guardian and Business Day.
Currently, Tristen is a National Geographic Explorer, occasional lecturer at the University of Pretoria, and a freelance journalist & and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Ethics, Stellenbosch University. He's also the media director at a non-profit organisation, Humanity NPC.
Humanity NPC is dedicated to social and environmental justice. Areas of work include: environment, human rights, democracy, and indigenous rights. The organisation also uses storytelling (in-depth audio, visual and textual formats) to drive social change.
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Individuals contributed with their image and content in a personal capacity, not as a part of their role in any institution or company listed on this website.
Resources and points of view
The pandemic isn't fixing climate change, opinion in CNN
Fixing the climate crisis. We haven't fixed it, aren't fixing it, and the way we're talking about all of this is gross.
Why did renewables become so cheap so fast? And what can we do to use this global opportunity for green growth? article in World of Data
Fossil fuels dominate the global power supply because until very recently electricity from fossil fuels was far cheaper than electricity from renewables. This has dramatically changed within the last decade. In most places in the world power from new renewables is now cheaper than power from new fossil fuels.
The Oxford Martin Programme on GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT, programme at Oxford University
The Oxford Martin Programme on Global Development aims to understand and communicate the state of living conditions and the natural environment around the world and how it is changing over time.
Repairing Earth once the Pandemic Is Over, article in Scientific American
COVID-19 has highlighted how we’ve damaged the planet—and also harmed poor and marginalized people.
Why is no one talking about agriculture as a solution to climate change? article at AgFunder News
As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on health systems and the global economy it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem. Yet, in our collective response to the pandemic, there is also hope.
Choices in a fog of uncertainty: lessons for coronavirus from climate change, article in The Conversation
Governments around the world, driven by the threat of overburdened health systems and mass mortality resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, are being forced to make decisions that have enormous, long-lasting consequences for lives and economies. They are doing so without sufficient assurance that the choices they make are the best ones.
Can we tackle both climate change and Covid-19 recovery? article in Financial Times
The most consequential question looming over us right now is not whether we can address the Covid-19 crisis and climate change at the same time, but rather whether we can afford not to do so.
Jane Goodall: We Can Learn from This Pandemic, interview in Scientific American
In a teleconference promoting her participation in Earth Day events on the National Geographic Channel, Goodall talked about what gives her hope during the pandemic and what she hopes we all learn from it.
International lawyers draft plan to criminalise ecosystem destruction, article in The Guardian
Plan to draw up legal definition of ‘ecocide’ attracts support from European countries and small island nations.
