We must stop climate change – we say

Written by: Nora Mariel Kjeldahl Granas, Harstad Local Team Leader for Nature and Youth.

“We have to stop “Climate change” we often say, especially we young people who will succeed Ivar M. Johannen and his generation. There is a broad scientific consensus in the field of climate. Scientists around the world have concluded that human activity, especially the emission of carbon dioxide and other gases, causes global warming. , is the main driving force behind the global warming we are experiencing today.

As the environmental activist believes It is necessary to highlight and address the climate crisis by focusing on facts and scientific knowledge. This is a response to Ivar M. Johansen's post in HT dated June 9.

Yes, the climate It has always changed, but the speed and extent of the changes we are seeing now is without historical parallel. This rapid change threatens nature and biodiversity on a scale never seen before.

Ice Age and that The natural climate changes that followed occurred over thousands of years, while the human-made climate changes we see now occurred over a few decades. There is a big difference. The dramatic changes from the Ice Age to the present are due to natural cycles and processes that we understand well. But the rapid climate changes we are seeing today are occurring much faster than any natural cycles we know of. This gives nature and biodiversity little time to adapt, leading to disastrous consequences for ecosystems and species.

not They are no longer just hypothetical scenarios; This is the reality we face. We are already seeing the consequences. United Nations figures indicate that 25 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of climate change, most of them in the Global South (2018). Now in 2024, the numbers will likely have increased. Frequent natural disasters, water and food shortages, floods and droughts are among the reasons that push people to leave their homes. In 2050, it is estimated that 150 million people will be displaced as a result of global warming.

Climate change is not known national borders, and I think it is unfair that the Global South, which generally contributes the least carbon dioxide emissions, is the one that suffers the greatest consequences. Therefore, I think it is completely wrong to take advantage of northern light tourism as a result of the climate crisis.

when it comes to As solar activity increases and its impact on climate, it is important to understand that the sun's effect on Earth is well studied and documented. Although solar activity can affect Earth's climate, it is not the main cause of current climate changes. Many studies have shown that changes in solar activity cannot explain the rapid increase in global temperature in recent decades. In fact, the temperature rise due to human-caused greenhouse gases is 270 times greater than the simple warming that can be attributed to solar activity since 1750. Let's take NASA's word for it.

When we see Going back to history, such as the Viking Age, when grains were grown in our latitudes, we must remember that these were regional climate changes, not global. Current global warming is affecting the entire planet in a way never seen before in history. The fact that the temperature was higher at certain periods in the past does not mean that the changes we see now are not man-made or dangerous.

We must act now. This means reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to ensure a secure future for future generations around the world. Ignoring scientific consensus and failing to act based on faulty assumptions about natural climate cycles is not only irresponsible, it is extremely dangerous. The economic costs of inaction are far greater than the investments we make now to protect our planet.

He also fights environmental activist I'm for a world where we take care of nature and each other. We must use science and solidarity as our guiding stars in overcoming the climate crisis and ensuring a sustainable future for all.