Climate scientists have decided to remove their worst-case scenario for how hot the Earth could get if nothing is done to slow global warming. The decision is thanks to worldwide efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo
Climate scientists have decided to remove their worst-case scenario for how hot the Earth could get if nothing is done to slow global warming.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change seems ready to drop its most extreme scenario because global efforts to slow climate change make the worst-case scenario “implausible.”
The scenario predicted that if nothing were done to curb greenhouse gases, by the end of the century, global average temperatures could jump by 9 degrees Fahrenheit over preindustrial levels. There were several scenarios developed, and the “RCP 8.5″ scenario was the worst one.
Scientists note that the use of renewable energy and other factors have helped avert the runaway warming that had appeared more likely.
President Donald Trump, however, posted on Truth Social, “GOOD RIDDANCE! After 15 years of Dumocrats promising that ‘Climate Change’ is going to destroy the Planet, the United Nations TOP Climate Committee just admitted that its own projections (RCP8.5) were WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!”
In a paper published in April, a committee of top climate experts said that the current worst-case scenario would be that the planet could heat up by an average of just over 6 degrees Fahrenheit. It also said the likelier range would be up to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit if emissions trends continue. The authors said less burning of coal and a flattening of fossil fuel use overall caused them to adjust their estimates.
While these changes have caused the predicted numbers to be reduced, every fraction of a degree of warming causes dangerous increases in extreme weather, crop failures and sea level rise, The New York Times reported.
Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax.” Since he was re-elected, he has canceled grants for green energy, tried to block wind farms and put his friend Lee Zeldin as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He most recently rolled back guidelines for keeping “forever toxins” out of drinking water.
