800 of them worked on this. It’s worth knowing about.

Uncategorized0

800 of them worked on this. It’s worth knowing about.

Inbox
x
Aaron Packard – 350.org <aaron@350.org>
5:23 PM (7 minutes ago)

to me
Images are not displayed. Display images below – Always display images from aaron@350.org

Dear friend,

On Friday the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) released it’s 5th Assessment Report on Climate Change. This report is the most authoritative and comprehensive assessment of scientific knowledge on climate change, prepared by over 800 of the world’s leading experts. Its findings are clear – climate change is real, caused by human activity and needs to be urgently addressed.

Since we’re quite fond of science and numbers at 350.org — after all, we’re named after the safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — we wanted to share a few of the key numbers from the new climate report:

  • 95%: that’s the level of certainty that scientists have that humans are causing the world to heat up. To put that into context, that’s the same level of certainty scientists have that cigarettes cause cancer. That’s what scientists call “unequivocal”. The debate on the basics of climate science is over.

  • 1 Trillion: the global “carbon budget” in tonnes. That’s the amount of CO2 we can release into the atmosphere while keeping global warming under 2 degrees Celsius — what many scientists have identified as a red line for our planet. We’ve already burned through about half of that carbon budget.  Translation: we need action. ASAP.

  • 1,2,3: the ranking of the last three decades in the “warmest decades in recorded history.” In other words: the planet is heating up, and we’re breaking new climate records every day.

But there are a few numbers you should know about climate change that aren’t in the latest report — numbers that give us reason for hope:

  • 100%: that’s the expected growth in global installed solar power over the next two and a half years! That’s a doubling of global solar capacity in a mere 30 months. The renewable energy revolution has begun.

  • 20,000: that’s the number of events, protests, and rallies we’ve organized at 350.org globally. We’ll be adding to that with Summer Heat fast approaching. The movement is everywhere, and it’s active.

  • 100,000: that’s the number of new activists to have joined 350’s global network in the last few months. We’re growing — and fast.

Unfortunately however, our new Government has stuck its head in the sand. As one of its first moves, Tony Abbott’s Coalition abolished the Climate Commission – Australia’s own version of the IPCC. The Climate Commission provided essential information to the Australian public on climate change, taking the politics out of climate science. And last week, the Government announced plans to introduce legislation that would ban boycotts on products for environmental reasons – preventing consumers from getting the information they need to make informed choices.

But when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Just days after the Climate Commission was abolished, a new Climate Council was established, and it has been flooded with support from the community. Since Tuesday, thanks to small donations from over 20,000 individuals, almost $1 million has been raised. If you haven’t already chipped in, you can do so here. This is the power of community. And when it comes to the Coalition’s proposed anti-boycott amendments, we’ll stand up again to protect our consumer rights.

The IPCC report lays out the challenge we’re facing. It’s now up to us to do what’s needed to meet that challenge. We can do it, but only if we keep up the fight. Check out our recently updated website: 350.org.au to see how you can join us.

Keep up your courageous work!

Aaron, Simon, Blair, Charlie and all the 350.org Australia team

PS – check out this great graphic about the new report — can you take a moment to share it on Facebook? Or simply pass this email on?


More Info and Resources 

U.N. Climate Panel Endorses Ceiling on Global Emissions – The New York Times

What 95% certainty of warming means to scientists – AP Article

IPCC climate report: human impact is ‘unequivocal’ –  The Guardian

Chart: 2/3rds of Global Solar PV Has Been Installed in the Last 2.5 Years – GreenTech

Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis – IPCC

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.