{"id":23152,"date":"2022-08-03T10:51:19","date_gmt":"2022-08-03T17:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=23152"},"modified":"2022-08-03T10:51:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T17:51:21","slug":"scientists-say-catastrophic-climate-scenarios-including-human-extinction-demand-further-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/08\/03\/scientists-say-catastrophic-climate-scenarios-including-human-extinction-demand-further-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Say ‘Catastrophic’ Climate Scenarios\u2014Including Human Extinction\u2014Demand Further Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Africa<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kenyan pastoralists from the local Gabra community walk among carcasses of some of their sheep and goats on the outskirts of Kambi ya Nyoka in Marsabit County on January 29, 2022. (Photo: Tony Karumba\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Could anthropogenic climate change result in worldwide societal collapse or even eventual human extinction?” asks a new analysis. “At present, this is a dangerously underexplored topic.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BRETT WILKINS<\/a> August 2, 2022 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worst-case outcomes of<\/strong> an unmitigated climate emergency\u2014civilizational collapse or even human extinction\u2014are “dangerously underexplored” scenarios requiring further study, an analysis published Monday asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is ample evidence that climate change could become catastrophic. We could enter such ‘endgames’ at even modest levels of warming.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a perspective<\/a> published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>, climate scientists Luke Kemp, Chi Xu, Joanna Depledge, and Timothy M. Lenton argue that humanity must prepare for what they call the “climate endgame.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is time for the scientific community to grapple with the challenge of better understanding catastrophic climate change,” the researchers write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although climate scientists say such catastrophic consequences are unlikely, the paper’s authors caution that “facing a future of accelerating climate change while blind to worst-case scenarios is na\u00efve risk management at best and fatally foolish at worst.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is ample evidence that climate change could become catastrophic. We could enter such ‘endgames’ at even modest levels of warming,” they warn. “Understanding extreme risks is important for robust decision-making, from preparation to consideration of emergency responses.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This requires exploring not just higher temperature scenarios but also the potential for climate change impacts to contribute to systemic risk and other cascades,” the authors add. “We suggest that it is time to seriously scrutinize the best way to expand our research horizons to cover this field.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New paper from @LukaKemp<\/a> in PNAS 'Climate Endgame: Exploring catastrophic climate change scenarios' https:\/\/t.co\/MihpWqUF8s<\/a><\/p>— Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (@CSERCambridge) August 1, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>