{"id":10034,"date":"2021-08-13T03:25:55","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T19:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecoknights.org.my\/?p=10034"},"modified":"2021-08-13T03:25:59","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T19:25:59","slug":"wob-ipcc-report-states-we-can-no-longer-escape-human-caused-climate-change-what-does-it-mean-for-malaysia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecoknights.org.my\/wob-ipcc-report-states-we-can-no-longer-escape-human-caused-climate-change-what-does-it-mean-for-malaysia\/","title":{"rendered":"WOB: IPCC Report States We Can No Longer Escape Human-Caused Climate Change, What Does It Mean For Malaysia?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Source: WORLD OF BUZZ<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The long-awaited Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report was published on 9 August, making it the sixth assessment of its kind. It is the climate science body of the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organisation.\u00a0In simpler terms, it\u2019s the most important report on the state of the climate today.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The IPCC comprises 234 scientists and government representatives from 195 countries and is the global authority on Earth\u2019s climate and how human activities affect it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0states that escape from\u00a0human-caused climate change is no longer possible<\/strong>\u00a0as it is now affecting every continent, region and ocean on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also said that Earth has warmed by 1.09 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times and many changes such as the sea-level rise and glacier melt are now virtually irreversible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, the IPCC states unequivocally\u00a0for the first time that humans are responsible<\/strong>\u00a0for the observed warming of the atmosphere, lands and oceans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Key points of the report<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The IPCC report contains 3,900 pages of text but we have summarised the major points of contention:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does this mean for Malaysia?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aidil Iman Aidid<\/a>, an environmental activist and member of the\u00a0Malaysian Youth Delegation<\/a>\u00a0(youth climate movement) told WORLD OF BUZZ that the report states the consequences of what would happen if we do not take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Malaysian context, he said that a 1.5 degree Celsius increase in temperature will cause Malaysia\u2019s rice production to drop by around 30%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDuring early 2020, we had the worst drought in four decades which severely impacted the paddy planting of Malaysia\u2019s northern region which further affects the livelihoods of those dependent on agriculture\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Aside from the consequences to agriculture, Aidil pointed out that as extreme weather is fueled by climate change, we will see much more intense floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn terms of health, water-borne diseases from floods and vector-borne diseases such as dengue which is triggered by climate change would pose a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, environmental NGO EcoKnights<\/a> told WORLD OF BUZZ that further potential impacts of climate change in Malaysia include sea-level rise, erosion of shorelines, coral reef bleaching, increased flood intensities, decreased water availability, greater diseases among forest species and loss of biodiversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They also explained that the effects of extreme weather and loss of agriculture will mean a negative impact on economic growth and widen the socioeconomic gap in a marginalised society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSimply put, this will affect our agriculture industry and the nation\u2019s economic growth.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Solutions for the future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n EcoKnights listed various initiatives that everyone must participate in. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst Aidil believes that the future of the Earth lies in our hands. In a Twitter post, he said that \u201cit is our duty to take care of the planet. We must hold polluters accountable and reject unstainable projects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo not give in. Giving up is climate inaction.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n