1 billion premature deaths predicted thanks to climate change
"If you take the scientific consensus of the 1,000-ton rule seriously, and run the numbers, anthropogenic global warming equates to a billion premature dead bodies over the next century. Obviously, we have to act. And we have to act fast," said Joshua Pearce, a professor at the University of Western Ontario in Canada.
A study, published in the journal energies, proposed aggressive and substantive energy policies to enable immediate carbon emissions to decrease exponentially. Climate change influenced by anthropological interference is likely to be blamed for premature deaths scaling up to one billion people over the next century. PTI reports, “If global warming reaches two degrees Celsius, a study suggests.”
The oil and gas industry is directly and indirectly responsible for over 40 % of carbon emissions – impacting the lives of billions of people, many living in the world’s most remote and low-sourced communities, the researchers said.
The study recommended an amplification of government, corporate, and individual action in order to accelerate the decarbonisation of the global economy, aiming to shrink the number of projected human deaths.
The researchers discovered a peer-reviewed literature on the human mortality costs of carbon emissions converged on the “1000-tonne rule” which is an estimated amount of carbon fossil burnt for one future premature death to take place.
“If you take the scientific consensus of the 1,000-ton rule seriously, and run the numbers, anthropogenic global warming equates to a billion premature dead bodies over the next century. Obviously, we have to act. And we have to act fast,” said Joshua Pearce, a professor at the University of Western Ontario in Canada.
”As predictions of climate models become clearer, the harm we are doing to children and future generations can increasingly be attributed to our actions,” said Mr Pearce.
The direct relationship shared between greenhouse gas emissions liabilities and the endangered future can no longer be ignored as per the researchers of this study.
PTI reported, “The study found that to limit these enormous future liabilities and save many human lives, humanity needs to stop burning fossil fuels as quickly as possible by following a more aggressive approach to energy efficiency and renewable energy.”
“To be clear, predicting the future accurately is hard. The 1,000-ton rule is only an order of magnitude best estimate. The number of caused deaths will likely lie between a tenth of a person and 10 people per 1,000 tons. Regardless, the bottom line that we need to act fast is still crystal clear,” Mr Pearce added.
Sustainability is to live and consume resources judiciously such that the climate is not exploited or harmed and there are copious amounts of resources left for the posterity as well. As the famous saying goes, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”
Sustainability is no longer going to be a way of life as it soon shapes out to become the way of life. The choice of doing smaller chores to contribute toward climate consciousness will no longer remain a choice nor would it be small anymore. The leaps will have to be higher and longer as delayed action piles up. This ignorance, will also soon result in the piling up of bodies.
In the Indian context, Delhi’s pollution will now show a direct effect on the life expectancy of the locals. India fares highly in indices projecting figures for pollution, exploitation, etc. While India is not as bad as many countries, “not bad” is not good enough, especially as an economy that is challenging China to become a manufacturing hub, how will we save our land, which has been exploited since the time of the British for either the Satanic mills of Manchester or now to keep up with the commercial competition. Indian iPhones featured in Apple launch event; Check prices
