Alarming: Climate researcher Rockström warns of accelerated change

Alarming: Climate researcher Rockström warns of accelerated change

In the past few weeks, the discussion about climate change has intensified again. As part of a TED conference in Seattle, the renowned climate researcher Johan Rockström gave an alarming lecture that addressed the pressing problems and dangers of global change. The focus of his explanations was a particularly urgent sentence: "Earth system and climate scientists are becoming increasingly nervous." This statement not only reflects the current scientific insight, but also the urgent need to seriously question the condition of our planet.

The lecture by Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, outlines the concerning development of the earth in just 20 minutes. While researchers have been observing a slow heating trend by the oceans since the 1970s, a worrying increase in sea temperature has been determined since 2023. Rockström warns: "To be honest, we don't know," he introduces. However, there is indications that the oceans could lose its ability to store heat and instead hand in heat to the atmosphere.

terrifying developments in the atmospheric values

global warming not only happens faster, their effects also seem to become more serious. In the period from 1970 to 2010, an increase in air temperatures of 0.18 degrees per decade. But from 2014 to the present, this value rose to 0.26 degrees. This is worrying, because even if the trend should not speed up, we could exceed the two-degree limit in the next 20 years, which would have catastrophic consequences on earth.

The discovery is particularly alarming that natural CO2 lowering, such as forests and other ecosystems, are becoming increasingly weaker. So far, these systems have absorbed 31 percent of the greenhouse gases generated by humans, but heat test, deforestation and other environmental factors are increasing them. In parts of the Amazon rainforest, more CO2 is now being expelled than recorded, which could have devastating effects on the global climate.

The right way to change

Although the situation is worrying, Rockström remains an optimistic realist. It is clear to him that the climate crisis can be solved. The remaining CO2 budget is only 200 billion tons, and the exit from fossil energies alone is not enough. He emphasizes that an ambitious change in nutrition and economic models are needed to rehabilitate the earth.

It is crucial that society realizes that the existing economic system, which provides profit about the common good, is no longer portable. Nevertheless, in Rockström's speech, one misses a profound dialogue about the social and economic conditions that drive the current climate crisis. The question remains: What prevents us from actually acting climate -friendly? Solutions must be found that go beyond a purely scientific perspective.