I’m sure many of you have been following closely — the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has published its latest report.

The Panel has once again warned the public that without “IMMEDIATE AND LARGE-SCALE” emissions reductions, it will be impossible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

One of the report’s authors, Peter Thorne from Maynooth University in Ireland, says, “If we don’t act at the required pace, we will exceed 1.5 degrees and most likely even 2 degrees.”

Since the Panel is not expected to publish its next report until 2027, there are fears that the long gap in between could push political action on global warming into the background.

And the fear is justified, because both scientists and risk managers have been exhausting themselves for years trying to explain that the full negative impacts of climate change are thundering toward us. Let me give myself a little credit too — back in 2013, exactly ten years ago, I wrote in a risk management journal that climate change was the greatest risk we faced. My statement was met with sarcastic remarks from other managers in the sector. What was climate change, after all, when there were such important (!) risks like interest rates and currency fluctuations?

We see what climate change is now, don’t we? Record-breaking temperatures, increasing forest fires, biodiversity on the brink of extinction, extreme weather events, shifting rainfall patterns, more floods and droughts, and looming water and food crises… There’s so much more to say, but I’m too frustrated to keep writing.

And yet, from politicians (with a few faint voices aside), there has been — and still is — persistent silence. I don’t think I need to explain how frightening this is. Because the group that could truly make a difference is essentially them — and they are either in denial or sacrificing the future for short-term and petty gains. They are thinking, “Après moi, the deluge.”

What exactly are they sacrificing our future for? They aim to boost growth and employment. But for how long? The world is a closed box, and every country inside it aims to grow. If everything inside a closed box grows, isn’t it natural that pressure will build and eventually burst the box? If we leave behind a world unfit for living, what good will increased employment be?

In the end, no serious action has come from politicians so far — and none is expected.

Fortunately, there is a glimmer of hope sprouting from the people themselves.

The public has begun suing governments.

Cases of “human rights violations through climate inaction” have been filed against 33 countries, including Turkey, and will soon be heard by the European Court of Human Rights. These include three separate lawsuits filed by women over the age of 64, a Member of the European Parliament, and children. The groups have filed these suits citing the impacts of climate change on their lives.

The truth is, rights are never easily won. Throughout history, great struggles have been required to secure them. This time will be no different; it seems clear that — despite big corporate interests and politicians — this right (which we might call the right to live decently) will also be won through public resistance and demand.

I will be following the results of these cases with great interest and will keep you informed of developments.

Until the next article, stay healthy…

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