Tag Archives: 2.0°C

Cost of Climate Change

Our Fair Share: Climate Crisis Workshop on Cortes Island

“A ccording to NASA, if we look back 800,000 years, we can see that carbon dioxide concentration fluctuated between roughly 180 and  280 parts per million and just in the geological blink of an eye, we have sent that  parts per million up to just about 400. So we’re getting very close to a doubling of CO2 relative to where it has been for a long time.” 

That quote was Max Thaysen, from the Climate Action Network, explaining one of the slides  (top of page) shown at ‘Our Fair Share,’ an interactive online climate solutions workshop held in Mansons Hall on Thursday, October 3, 2024. 

The event was hosted by the Climate Action Committee. 

Continue reading Our Fair Share: Climate Crisis Workshop on Cortes Island →
Environment

Old Habits – The Quadra Project

Some old habits are difficult to break. Since the global pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, 30 years of half-hearted trying has not stopped them from going up rather than down. The result is exactly as scientific modelling has predicted—global temperatures are rising. The year 2023 was the hottest in about 125,000 years after temperature records were recorded for consecutive months from June to December of 2023, and then for January and February of 2024. The final calculations for 2023 indicate that we have reached 1.32°C above the pre-industrial temperature, exceeding the 2019 record by 0.4°C. Yes, it’s a warmer El Niño year, but that only accounts for 0.2°C of the 1.32°C. New 2024 calculations indicate we have reached 1.48°C above historical levels.

Continue reading Old Habits – The Quadra Project →
Cost of Climate Change

The Quada Project: Beyond 1.5°C

The consensus of scientists is that limiting the global temperature rise of 1.5°C is no longer reachable, but limiting it to below 2.0°C is possible, according to an analysis of global information undertaken by the Inevitable Policy Response study from Britain (Jacob Thomae, New Scientist, 2 December 2023, “Keeping our Cool”). We were once on a path to 3.5°C, which has been reduced to 2.4°C by 2100. But the IPR study thinks that we have a 90% chance of holding the temperature increase to between 1.7 and 1.8°C, primarily because of the progress that has been made on green energy since the Paris Agreement in 2015. This is the good news.

Continue reading The Quada Project: Beyond 1.5°C →
Environment

The Quadra Project: Cop 28

The 28th session of the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties, known as COP28, concluded at the end of 2023 in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates. It was as much a success as can be imagined when a so-called “petro state” is hosting and chairing an international meeting that hoped to reduce global carbon emissions.

Continue reading The Quadra Project: Cop 28 →