Over 11K scientists declare world ‘climate emergency’

In a move that backs a term used to date mainly by climate activists and leftleaning politicians, a new study by 11,258 scientists in 153 countries from a broad range of disciplines warns that the planet “clearly and unequivocally faces a climate emergency,” and provides six broad policy goals that must be met to address it.

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Bioscience, was spearheaded by the ecologists Bill Ripple and Christopher Wolf of Oregon State University, along with William Moomaw, a Tufts University climate scientist, and researchers in Australia and South Africa. The report is a stark departure from recent scientific assessments of global warming in that it does not couch its conclusions in the wishy-washy language of uncertainties, and it does prescribe policies.

The study, called the “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency,” marks the first time a large group of scientists has formally come out in favor of labeling climate change an “emergency,” which the study notes is caused by many human trends that are together increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Despite 40 years of global climate negotiations, with few exceptions, we have generally conducted business as usual and have largely failed to address this predicament,” the study states.

The paper bases its conclusions on a set of easy-tounderstand indicators that show the human influence on climate, such as 40 years of greenhouse gas emissions, economic trends, population growth rates, per capita meat production, and global tree cover loss, as well as consequences, such as global temperature trends and ocean heat content.

“We’re asking for a transformative change for humanity,” Mr. Ripple said.