Dear Editor,
I read your coverage (The Guardian, 18th Jan 2018) of a report in the journal Nature telling us that scientists (led by Peter Cox of the University of Exeter) have concluded that, by the end of this century, CO2 is likely to rise less than predicted by other reports (i.e. 2.8 degrees Celsius rather than four of five degrees).
I also read (in the German newspaper "TAZ") a report that the IPPC has declared the main goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees, to be unattainable.
And then, in the final paragraph of the Guardian's report we learn that, if a.) the Gulf Stream collapses, b.) carbon-rich permafrost thaws or c.) the ice-sheets on Greenland or Antarctica melt, then all bets are off and the world has a VERY BIG problem.
So what earthly use is all this effort and money, and the carbon-emissions, that we pour into numerous conferences and studies? They tell us the blindingly obvious: That the planet is in crisis and we need to drastically reduce emissions.
In my opinion the reduction should not be by having more efficient planes and fancy electric cars but rather by us citizens getting "off our bums", using more muscle-power (e.g. walking, public transport and cycling), living far more modestly and switching to local and regional economic structures.
But we obviously prefer to ponder "pie in the sky" rather than to do something tangible!
Regards
