WHY MUST WE STOP THE HUGE POLLUTERS NOW?

Climate science speaks an unmistakable language: If we want to prevent disaster, the average temperature must not be allowed to rise above preindustrial levels by even 2°C (3.6°F) by the year 2100. Otherwise the permafrost that underlies 20% of Earth’s land surface will thaw, releasing billions of tons of CO2. That would mark a fatal tipping point from which there would be no return. Northern soils are estimated to hold more than 2 trillion tons of organic carbon—five times the total amount thus far emitted by human activity and around twice as much as is found in the atmosphere. Most of the G20 nations are far from meeting the climate goals they set for 2035. Climate scientists say nations will have to triple their efforts in order to prevent the worst-case scenario from becoming reality, and the time to act is now. “We are approaching potentially irreversible thresholds earlier than we had previously thought,” says Johan Rockström, the co-director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Theoretically the goal of 2°C is still within reach, and thanks to the Carbon Majors Report we know the names of the greatest climate killers. The report “shows how a relatively small group of fossil fuel producers holds the key to a systemic change in CO2 emissions,” says Pedro Faria, technical director of the nonprofit environmental group CDP, publisher of the report. A large percentage of industrial greenhouse gas is being subsidized by the taxpayers. So it’s up to us to compel these companies to accept responsibility for their actions and become part of the solution.