Take action against carbon dioxide emissions otherwise cities will be engulfed by rising water levels, rivers will dry up and marine wildlife will collapse. The warning issued by the scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is clear.

In a report published Wednesday (September 25th) on the consequences of climate change on the oceans, glaciers and poles, the group of experts also shows that radical measures can still prevent worst-case scenarios from materializing.

If carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise, they will so profoundly disequilibrate the oceans and the cryosphere that no one will be spared from these upheavals, warn scientists.

"The essential element that emerges from this report is that we have a choice: the future is not yet engraved in stone," he adds.

One meter by 2100

Finalized Tuesday after a final session of 27 hours of negotiations in Monaco between scientists and government representatives, this report is the culmination of two years of work.

Established by more than 100 authors on the basis of 7,000 scientific publications, it details the consequences of ocean warming and accelerating ice melting for more than 1.3 billion people living in areas close to the sea level. from the sea either in the mountains.

These scientists estimate that sea levels could rise by one meter by 2100, or 10 times more than in the twentieth century, if carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase, even though they have reached record level last year. By 2300, the rise could even reach five meters.

Thawing permafrost in Siberia or Alaska could release large amounts of greenhouse gases, which in turn would accelerate global warming, fueling a vicious cycle.

In October 2018, the IPCC had already warned that carbon dioxide emissions would have to be halved over the next decade in order to reach the goals of limiting the increase in global temperature set by the Paris Agreement in 2015 .

"A choice to make"

Last month, the panel called for an in-depth change in land management and agricultural production to reduce global warming and preserve food security, health and biodiversity.

Published two days after a UN climate summit in New York, which has not led to any real progress in the fight against climate change, this third report highlights the gap between the multiple warnings of scientists and scientists. policies implemented by most governments.

For the report's authors, the evolution of the oceans is so slow that some of these upheavals will inevitably intensify in the centuries to come, even if the world stops overnight to emit any greenhouse gases. Conversely, if emissions continue to rise, the consequences are likely to worsen so rapidly that societies around the world will no longer be able to respond in time and the first victims will be the poorest communities. and the most vulnerable.

With Reuters