Don't overstate 1.5 degrees C threat, new IPCC head says – DW – 07/30/2023
www.dw.com
Jim Skea, the new head of the UN's IPCC climate panel, said it was not helpful to imply that temperature increases of 1.5 degrees Celsius posed an existential threat to humanity.

In short, we aren’t on track to an apocalyptic extinction, and the new head is concerned that rhetoric that we are is making people apathetic and paralyzes them from making beneficial actions.

He makes it clear too that this doesn’t mean things are perfectly fine. The world is becoming and will be more dangerous with respect to climate. We’re going to still have serious problems to deal with. The problems just aren’t insurmountable and extinction level.

    • heeplr@feddit.deEnglish
      32·
      1 year ago

      How is it stupid? It’s true and not even contradicting OPs experience.

      • Shard@lemmy.worldEnglish
        111·
        1 year ago

        Its missing the forest for the trees. A bit like saying the main cause of shooting deaths in the US is due to bullets hitting people.

        Lets assume that most wildfires are indeed caused by arson/accident. But first the environmental conditions must allow such activities to have the impacts they have. i.e. higher temperatures and drier dry-seasons caused by climate change, resulting in a more combustible environment.

        • heeplr@feddit.deEnglish
          12·
          1 year ago

          But first the environmental conditions must allow such activities to have the impacts they have.

          Exactly. There might even be the same amount of arsonists/stupid people as in the 80s but it just burns better now. Incidents were no fire developed in the 80s can now spread to huge wildfires with a much higher chance.

          Still the claim is true and probably has consequences for hikers, people who live in the woods, settlements near to forrests etc.

      • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        So your opinion is that as it gets warmer and drier, more people choose to set fires? And not that the same number of people behave in the same way, but the conditions changing is what makes the fires worse?

        • bigkix@lemm.eeEnglish
          02·
          1 year ago

          There are no upticks in number of fires, only percentage of acres they consume. US data, for example (below). Now, you can ignore the data and continue drumming that climate change is causing more fires, but that is not a fact.

          • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            I don’t think you actually read what I said. You are arguing a completely different thing. And your data is supporting my point, not yours. I was specifically saying that it isn’t more fires. That each fire is just worse because the conditions are worse. It’s drier and warmer causing the fires to spread faster. Global warming is indeed the cause of that.