Episode 407
The latest UN climate report is out and we鈥檝e blown past 1.5 degrees of warming. We鈥檙e now in 鈥渙vershoot鈥� – an acknowledgement that global temperatures will rise beyond 1.5 degrees, but can theoretically be brought back down again through cooling efforts.
But with the world on track fo r2.8 and even as much as 4.5 degrees of warming by 2100, is the challenge of keeping temperatures at a manageable level politically and technologically feasible?
As scientists argue whether 鈥渙vershoot鈥� is failure, conditions at Thwaites glacier in Antarctica are also worsening. The so-called 鈥淒oomsday鈥� glacier is melting and an integral ice shelf is on the verge of collapse.
Now models show the melting is locked in – and can鈥檛 be stopped even if we keep global temperatures down. If it collapses, it could reshape the entire coastline of the world.
To discuss the news, Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet are joined by Madeleine Cuff and Alison George.
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