European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service

2023 Destroys Global Heat Record as Fossil Fuel Emissions Boil the Planet

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Original article by JAKE JOHNSON republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Indonesian firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire in Ogan Ilir, Indonesia on September 14, 2023.  (Photo: Muhammad A.F/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“How many more records does it take before we phase out fossil fuels and deal with it?” asked one climate campaigner.

European scientists officially confirmed Tuesday that 2023 was the hottest year on record, surpassing 2016 by a huge margin as greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels continue to drive global temperatures to terrifying new highs.

The conclusion from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service was hardly unexpected given the unparalleled heatwaves that gripped large swaths of the planet last year, ushering in what the head of the United Nations called “the era of global boiling.”

Last year’s global average temperature was 14.98°C, 0.17°C warmer than 2016, 0.60°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average, and 1.48°C warmer than the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level, according to Copernicus.

“2023 was an exceptional year with climate records tumbling like dominoes,” said Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess. “Not only is 2023 the warmest year on record, it is also the first year with all days over 1°C warmer than the pre-industrial period. Temperatures during 2023 likely exceed those of any period in at least the last 100,000 years.”

Liz Bentley, chief executive of the U.K.’s Royal Meteorological Society told CNN on Tuesday that after last year’s record-shattering summer, scientists predicted that global warming would reach around 1.3°C above pre-industrial levels.

That projection, Bentley said, has been “annihilated” by the new Copernicus data, which shows that planetary warming is perilously close to the Paris accord’s 1.5°C target.

“If you look at climate projections, when we expect to see temperature changes of close to 1.5°C, indeed it has come sooner than many would have expected,” Bentley added. “We’ve definitely seen an acceleration towards that, rather than it being a kind of linear progression. It feels like it’s rising much more exponentially.”

Scientists expect 2024 to be even hotter than last year, raising the stakes for badly lagging global efforts to rein in planet-warming fossil fuel production, which in 2023 hit record levels in the United States—the largest historical contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

“How many more records does it take before we phase out fossil fuels and deal with it?” asked climate campaigner Mike Hudema.

Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo said in a statement Tuesday that “the extremes we have observed over the last few months provide a dramatic testimony of how far we now are from the climate in which our civilization developed.”

“This has profound consequences for the Paris Agreement and all human endeavors,” said Buontempo. “If we want to successfully manage our climate risk portfolio, we need to urgently decarbonize our economy whilst using climate data and knowledge to prepare for the future.”

Original article by JAKE JOHNSON republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Continue Reading2023 Destroys Global Heat Record as Fossil Fuel Emissions Boil the Planet

‘No Tennis on a Dead Planet’: Climate Activists Disrupt US Open

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Original article by JAKE JOHNSON republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

“The climate is already more disruptive than any activists can possibly be,” said a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion.

A group of climate activists wearing shirts that read “End Fossil Fuels” delayed the semifinal match of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships by around 45 minutes Thursday night in an effort to call greater public attention to the planetary emergency that is wreaking deadly havoc worldwide.

One of the demonstrators glued his bare feet to the concrete in the stands at New York City’s Arthur Ashe Stadium, requiring additional effort by medical personnel and police to remove him and take him into custody.

The protesters were associated with the climate group Extinction Rebellion NYC, which said in a statement Thursday that there is “no tennis on a dead planet.”

“The climate and ecological crisis threatens everything on our planet, including sports,” the group said. “This action and similar actions are the response of a movement that has no other recourse than to engage in unconventional means of protest to bring mass attention to the greatest emergency of our time.”

Nineteen-year-old Coco Gauff won the semifinal match after it resumed. In an interview following her victory, Gauff said she supports “preaching about what you feel and what you believe in.”

“It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t get too mad at it,” she said of the demonstration. “Obviously I don’t want it to happen when I’m winning up 6-4, 1-0, and I wanted the momentum to keep going. But hey, if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it.”

The U.S. Open—which counts JPMorgan, a major funder of fossil fuels, as an official partner—kicked off late last month amid growing concerns about the impact of extreme heat on the sport.

During a match earlier this week, Russian player Daniil Medvedev looked into a courtside camera between points and warned that an athlete is “gonna die” from the scorching temperatures.

The Associated Press reported that “it got so hot and humid at the U.S. Open on Tuesday that the folks in charge adopted a new policy for the rest of this year’s tournament: They will partially shut the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof in extreme conditions to offer some extra shade.”

“An Associated Press analysis showed the average high temperatures felt during the U.S. Open and the three other major tennis tournaments steadily have gotten higher and more dangerous in recent decades, reflecting the climate change that created record heat waves around the globe this summer,” the outlet noted. “For athletes, it can keep them from playing their best and, worse, increases the likelihood of heat-related illness.”

Earlier this week, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that this summer has been the hottest on record, and a separate global report led by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that greenhouse gas concentrations hit a record high last year as fossil fuel extraction continued.

A recent survey found that experts on social movements believe disruptive protests of the kind launched by Extinction Rebellion are important to the success of a particular cause, even though the initial public reaction to such tactics can often be negative. The U.S. Open protest drew loud boos from attendees.

Miles Grant, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, said Thursday that “the climate is already more disruptive than any activists can possibly be.”

“Just look at the U.S. Open and other big tennis events—year after year, the average temperatures have been rising, making it hotter and more dangerous for the players and spectators,” said Grant. “At some point, there will be fewer outdoor sporting events due to excessive heat.”

Original article by JAKE JOHNSON republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue Reading‘No Tennis on a Dead Planet’: Climate Activists Disrupt US Open