COMMENT | “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land,” said the 6th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report last week. Hundreds of scientists worldwide and representatives from 195 countries reaffirm that human activities have caused an increase of 1.0°C global warming above the preindustrial levels.

Meanwhile, the Paris Agreement sets a target; to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and well below 2°C. With the current GHG emission rates, we expect to reach a 1.5°C increase between 2030 and 2052. We now know without a doubt that the number one public enemy of climate is delaying action.

Global temperatures rising by 1°C may sound harmless, but even with a 0.5°C hike, the future for the environment and people look grim. At a 1.5°C increase, “the impacts would be irreversible or long-lasting,” according to the IPCC’s Special Report in 2018. This “harmless” increase in global temperature has taken its manifestation in the most extreme forms of environmental disasters.

The rapid shifts in global temperatures cascaded into...