Why climate change is now a climate emergency

In the context of an increasing number of ‘climate emergency declarations’ and the accelerating adoption of the ‘climate emergency’ language, is the threat we are facing of such a magnitude and the timing so urgent that we should disrupt and transform global markets, economies and our way of life? To answer this question we examine the evidence.

• What would it mean to treat climate change as an emergency?

• The likelihood and level of the threat

  • What does the evidence tells us about the level threat?

  • What does the science tell us about the path we are on today?

  • The scale, duration and predictability of the threat

• How long do we have to address this risk?

  • How conservative are the forecasts of impacts?

  • How conservative is our interpretation of the forecasts?

  • How much risk are we prepared to take?

• Conclusion: Is a climate emergency justified by the evidence?