this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2024
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Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.

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Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.

As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades: Graph of temperature as observed with significant warming, and simulated without added greenhouse gases and other anthropogentic changes, which shows no significant warming

How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world: IPCC AR6 Figure 2 - Thee bar charts: first chart: how much each gas has warmed the world.  About 1C of total warming.  Second chart:  about 1.5C of total warming from well-mixed greenhouse gases, offset by 0.4C of cooling from aerosols and negligible influence from changes to solar output, volcanoes, and internal variability.  Third chart: about 1.25C of warming from CO2, 0.5C from methane, and a bunch more in small quantities from other gases.  About 0.5C of cooling with large error bars from SO2.

Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:

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[–] Droggelbecher 15 points 1 week ago (3 children)

We know this. We know that if we stopped emitting, we could avoid the worst. We're not idiots. It's just that there's no reason to believe humans will reduce emissions to a significant enough extent.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Well I share some degree of pessimism but the future is inherently unpredictable. There may be a big change coming. We just have to keep fighting so that we’re ready to win when the opportunity arrives.

[–] Droggelbecher 4 points 1 week ago

There are trends and the odds aren't exactly in our favour. But I generally agree. We're not certainly doomed. And it's important to keep fighting!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

We're not idiots.

Hnmm, I'd argue we are.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It’s just that there’s no reason to believe humans will reduce emissions

Humans have and continue to reduce emissions. Just not in the US-dominated economic zones.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Actually, the US has cut emissions already.

Only via dodgy accounting, Defence arent counted, international flights, international shipping etc aren't counted at all. Then there is the entire issue that outsourced emsision are ignored, they will go up again if onshoring occurs. Outsourced emissons are worse becase of shipping which isn't counted at all.

The dodgy accounting is deliberate as Deiter Helm explains.

https://e360.yale.edu/features/forget_kyoto_putting_a_tax_on_carbon_consumption

We're doing noting to reduce emissions except LARPing. This isnt a tech problem, it's a behavioural one. Closing aiports, banning private cars, banning cruise ships, cutting the military in 1/2 are solutions ebwryhibg eise is just posturing.

Bit I've had this debate with you a decade ago on Reddit and since then the Keeling curve keeps rising an rising.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Yes, worldwide emissions are still rising — largely because of emissions growth outside the US.

And no, it's not a result of "dodgy accounting" — it's because of how electrical generation has changed, with a sharp drop in the use of coal.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil 1 points 1 week ago

https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-largest-co2-importers-exporters/

Even though domestic emissions have fallen 27% in the UK between 1990 and 2014, once CO2 imports from trade are considered this drops to only an 11% reduction. Similarly, a 9% increase in domestic US emissions since 1990 turns out to be a 17% increase when trade is included.

Including emissions outsourced to other countries provides a more complete picture of the true responsibility associated with a country’s actions. It also accounts for carbon transfers associated with the decline of the manufacturing sector in the developed world.