The scientific consensus is that the world stands on the verge of unprecedented environmental and climate catastrophe for which we are little prepared, and which affords us only a few years for mitigating action.
Human-induced climate change creates an unprecedented risk of collapse, yet government response continues to fall below the threshold necessary to avoid it. While reports from the IPCC call for ever more urgent action, they reflect the conservative end of the science. The global, irreversible nature of climate change elevates risk of loss to an unacceptable level, mandating extreme, emergency-level action. New Zealand must now lead by example.
- There is a global scientific consensus that human activity is creating risk of an unprecedented crisis on earth
- We may already be at (or near) the point of no return for catastrophic global disaster
- The UN Secretary General describes this as "a direct existential threat" for all humankind
- While governments have pledged to reduce emissions to 2°C, "There is a growing recognition that 2°C is dangerous"
- Despite variability in predictions, the global, irreversible nature of climate change makes this risk unacceptable
- Even by conservative IPCC standards, government commitments fail, further exacerbating this risk
- The risks inherent in a worsening climate mandate urgent, transformative action
Our Climate Declaration has signed Claxon urging the New Zealand House of Representatives to declare a climate emergency. We encourage all our supporters to do the same.