In a new study published in the journal Nature, scientists report that the world has already breached critical climate thresholds, leaving less safe, habitable space for life on Earth.
Experts, as reported by the world media, point to threats to the health of people and the planet, and call on governments, companies and policy makers to take the crisis more seriously, reports Radio Free Europe (RSE) today.
The report of a group of scientists gathered in the Earth Commission presents disturbing evidence that the planet is facing increasing crises of water availability, nutrient load, ecosystem maintenance and aerosol pollution, the Guardian points out.
The study published on May 31 is, the Guardian points out, the most ambitious attempt to combine vital signs of the planet's health with indicators of human well-being.
The Earth Commission, founded by the world's leading research institutions, wants the analysis to be the scientific backbone of the next generation of sustainability goals and practices, extending beyond the current focus on climate to include other indices, including environmental justice.
The study sets a series of "safe and fair" benchmarks for the planet that, the paper explains, can be compared to the vital signs of the human body, where instead of pulse, temperature and blood pressure, indicators such as water flow, phosphorus use and land conversion are looked at.
The benchmarks are based on a synthesis of previous studies by universities and UN scientific groups, the Guardian states, emphasizing that the new study shows that the situation is difficult in almost all categories.
Researchers have traditionally looked at the effects of climate change or the loss of biodiversity on the planet itself, but the study by a group of Earth Commission scientists marks an attempt by experts to identify thresholds beyond which humans will suffer significant damage, the Financial Times reports.
The research identified eight Earth system thresholds that include climate, biodiversity, water, natural ecosystems, land use, and the effect of fertilizers and aerosols.
Human activities are said to have pushed these seven thresholds beyond a "safe and just boundary" into risk zones.
According to the research, between 50 percent and 60 percent of the country should be covered by mostly intact ecosystems, a level that has already been breached.
The so-called Earth system consists of many interdependent processes that keep the planet stable, but when disturbances change its habitability, scientists claim and point out that the various boundaries of the Earth systems that are listed in the research are "interrelated".
This, the London paper points out, means that exceeding the safe limit for one could have an indirect effect on others.
For years, the world has focused on a key climate change threshold: limiting global warming to 1,5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, even at that threshold — which could begin to be breached in the next five years — millions of people will still face "significant harm," including death, displacement and food and water shortages, CNN points to a new report. Land Commission.
At 1,5 degrees Celsius, the authors found that more than 200 million people could still be exposed to unprecedented heat, and more than 500 million people would be exposed to long-term sea-level rise.
They pointed out that the key climate threshold that countries committed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the one that would ensure a "safe and just" world, was supposed to be one degree Celsius.
However, the average temperature of planet Earth has already risen by about 1,2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which has already caused catastrophic and deadly climate and weather changes, including more extreme heat waves, floods and wildfires.
Therefore, scientists are urging governments, companies and policymakers to take the crisis more seriously as critical climate thresholds have been breached leaving less safe, habitable space for life on Earth.
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