The great climate divide between scientists and politicians

The climate is changing in dangerous ways, and we are responsible for most of these changes.


Scientists agree human
activity like burning coal for
power has changed the climate. 

 This is not a matter of conjecture or political opinion — it is the conclusion of the overwhelming majority of climate scientists, based on solid evidence that mounts each year. Rising sea levels, extreme heat, increased incidence of floods and drought, ocean acidification and expansion of tropical diseases pose an unacceptable level of risk to our descendants. So do many other climate-related threats.

Business, scientific and technical leaders are responding to these threats by finding ways to adapt to climate change, increase our energy efficiency, and develop carbon-free energy sources. Political leaders here and abroad are creating policies that promote these advances. At the Paris climate conference in December, 195 countries adopted an historic climate agreement, whose main goal is to prevent the world’s mean temperature from rising more than 2 degrees centigrade above its pre-industrial level. This agreement was the culmination of many years of efforts by governments and citizens. The negotiators of the agreement came together despite differences in forms of government, in responsibility for past emissions of greenhouse gases and in susceptibility to future climate change.

Read The Washington Post story - “Scientists know climate change is a threat. Politicians need to realize it, too.”