13,900 Scientists Are Warning Us of a Climate Emergency

Our world is burning. If you need a sign, this is it.

As of 28 July 2021, more than 13 thousand scientists declared a climate emergency.

Whether you accept it or not, our world is on fire, and we’re burning in it alive. All of us.

This is what independent researchers say from more than 153 countries. It’s not what a single populist politician claims to remain in power and frighten his people. This is serious. Peer-reviewed, if you want it.

According to the report, scientists' moral obligation is to “clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat.” They’re doing it. They warned in 2019, and now they’re trying it again:

We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency. To secure a sustainable future, we must change how we live. [This] entails major transformations in the ways our global society functions and interacts with natural ecosystems.

Let’s finally face it. We have a climate emergency.

Climate-related disasters have unprecedentedly skyrocketed since 2019. There’s been “devastating flooding in South America and Southeast Asia, record-shattering heatwaves and wildfires in Australia and the Western United States, an extraordinary Atlantic hurricane season, and devastating cyclones in Africa, South Asia, and the West Pacific.”

We might have already reached the tipping point, which means the change is irreversible and is getting faster. The Amazonas rainforest is emitting more CO2 than it absorbs. Floods and tornados are unexpectedly destroying Europe. Wildfires burn down the US.

I’m not writing this to make you scared, although you should be. As Greta Thunberg put it, we should be all panicking.

I’m writing this to help you with the transition. Because if we want to survive in the long run, we’ll have to learn how to live with the consequences of climate change. We’ll have to change.

Globally humans emit around 43,000,000,000 tons of CO2 each year into the atmosphere. Your carbon footprint is negligible. It’s probably less than 16 tons per year. With tiny behavior changes, you can halve it.

I’m not asking you to go vegan. I’m not encouraging you to go to work by bike (although that would be healthy), nor am I saying to go zero waste.

I’m asking you to start taking the issue a bit more seriously.

Imagine most people decided to take it seriously. Or a just bit more deliberate.

Imagine 6 figure earners consciously starting to reduce their carbon footprints. Imagine everybody reducing their footprints only a tiny bit.

If we managed to do that, the impact would be visible. We could significantly reduce CO2 emissions. Simultaneously, we’d reach something far greater. We could get into a global sustainability loop.

The equation is complex but straightforward: voters support climate action with their votes and behavior. Governments get frightened they’ll lose their supporters and start pouring money into sustainable projects. Start-ups and researchers see an opportunity there and create sustainable solutions. Existing organizations react and try to adjust.

Consumers support sustainable companies who market sustainable products and services. People like you stop putting their money in goods with a high carbon footprint, and thus, unsustainable businesses start to decline. With time, sustainability will be the only profitable option.

We don’t have time.

The earlier we start to accelerate these processes, the smoother and less deadly the transition will be.

Change your diet. Transform your transportation. Educate yourself. Reduce your carbon footprint.

Most importantly, vote green.

Did you enjoy? Subscribe to my newsletter for free content.