| Description |
The earth's climate system is facing a global meltdown with carbon
emissions steadily increasing and business as usual emissions
projections on a path of 4 degrees C (7.2°F) of global warming by about the 2060s and 6 degrees C (10.8°F) of warming by the turn of the
century, just 88 years hence, according to a scientific report -
<em>Turn Down the Heat</em> - by the Postdam Institute for Climate
Impact Research (PIK) (<a
href="http://www.pik-potsdam.de/news/press-releases/4-degrees-briefing-for-the-world-bank-the-risks-of-a-future-without-climate-policy">media release</a>) done on behalf of the World Bank (<a
href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/11/18/new-report-examines-risks-of-degree-hotter-world-by-end-of-century">media release</a>). Some say the <a
href="http://systemicdisorder.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/world-banks-call-for-slowing-global-warming-ignores-own-role/">World Bank's call for slowing global warming ignores their own role</a>.
<p>
This report comes after <a
href="http://climateimc.org/en/original-news/2012/11/21/us-hurrican-sandy-new-normal">Hurricane
Sandy</a> devastated <a
href="http://climateimc.org/en/original-news/2012/11/22/crops-devastated-food-crisis-looms-haiti-hurricane-sandy">island
nations in the Caribbean</a> before landing on the north east coast of
the United States, providing a <a
Href="http://takvera.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/superstorm-sandy-wakeup-call-on-climate.html">wakeup
call on climate change</a> just prior to the Presidential election.
<p>
Also released this week, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
warned that <a
href="http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2698&ArticleID=9335&l=en">Greenhouse
Gas Emissions Gap Widening as Nations Head to Crucial Climate Talks in
Doha</a>, while the European Environment Agency has warned in a new
report <a title="Climate change evident across Europe, confirming urgent need for adaptation" href="http://www.eea.europa.eu/pressroom/newsreleases/climate-change-evident-across-europe">Climate change evident across Europe, confirming urgent need for adaptation</a>.
A recent Price WaterhouseCoopers report warned that <a
href="http://takvera.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/business-as-usual-carbon-emissions.html">Business as usual Carbon emissions heading towards 6°C (10.8°F) of global warming this century</a>. So there is widespread agreement from science and scientists, energy experts and experts in global economics and accounting that we are facing a climate meltdown.
<p>
The International Energy Agency warned in their <a
href="http://takvera.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/iea-bold-change-of-direction-needed.html">2011 World Energy Outlook report</a> that we are on a 4-6 degree Celsius trajectory and that 80 percent of carbon emissions infrastructure has already been built and is in operation. We cannot afford to add any new carbon intensive infrastructure that will continue to pollute for 30-50
years, yet the World Resources Institute reveals <a
href="http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/11/new-global-assessment-reveals-nearly-1200-proposed-coal-fired-power-plants">nearly
1,200 Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plants</a>, the majority in India and
China.
<p>
But grassroots action is having an impact: <a title="India Beyond Coal" href="http://indiabeyondcoal.org/">thousands rallied against coal across India</a>, and a very first Arab Day of Climate Action (<a
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aycm/sets/72157631997778058/">Photos</a>) organised by the <a title="Arab Youth Climate Movement"
href="http://aycm.net/">Arab Youth Climate Movement</a> occurred on
November 10. In the US, the Sierra Club reports <a title="Sierra Club
victories against coal power" href="http://www.sierraclub.org/environmentallaw/coal/victories.aspx">victories</a>
in <a title="Sierra Club Stopping the Coal Rush" href="http://www.sierraclub.org/environmentallaw/coal/plantlist.aspx">stopping the coal rush</a>.</p>
<b><a href="http://climateimc.org/">Climate IMC</a> | San Fransisco Bay Area Indymedia: <a
href="http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/11/21/18726145.php">Review
of Turn Down the Heat</a> | DC Indymedia: <a
href="http://dc.indymedia.org/feature/display/132665/index.php">First
Round of the Last Chance to Head Off More Climate Disasters</a></b>
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