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As glaciers and ice sheets have melted faster, and rising temperatures
have warmed the surface of the sea, the planet's marine zones have absorbed
the heat, Barrett said. But the systems are now at or near overload.
"For decades, the ocean has been acting like a sponge ... but it can't keep
up," Barrett said. "The consequences for nature and humanity are sweeping and
severe."
The scientists confirmed clear links between ice loss and rising seas and
an array of impacts, including fiercer hurricanes and storms in the Atlantic
Ocean.
In the U.S., most of the East and West coasts will experience what were
once "hundred-year" floods on an annual basis, even if greenhouse gas
emissions are sharply reduced, and unless major investments are made to adapt
to the coming high waters, the report says.
“This report should erase any doubts about the peril that climate change
poses for the health of the ocean and, as a consequence, for human well-being,"
said John Tanzer of the World Wildlife Fund's global oceans program. "From
coral reefs and mangroves to fish populations and coastal habitats, climate
change and human pressures are rapidly destroying the natural capital that
supports the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people around the
world."
Thunberg, 16, her voice cracking, told the global leaders they were
failing. "For more than 30 years the science has been crystal clear. How dare
you continue to look away?"
But the world's largest polluters – the U.S., China and India – sat on the
sidelines or pledged little to nothing in terms of ratcheting down harmful carbon
dioxide and other industrial gases that continue to pile up at unprecedented
levels in the Earth's atmosphere.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi did vow to more than double
renewable energy, as President Donald Trump, a surprise last-minute
attendee, listened quietly in the audience. About 70 small and medium
countries, most of whom are already grappling with the climate crisis, did
pledge further cuts, even though their collective emissions are relatively small.
The new IPCC report pulled no punches: Polar ice sheet loss has
increased dramatically, overtaking warming ocean expansion and glacial melt as
the main cause of sea-level rise since the last oceans assessment in 2013. Sea
level rise is speeding up. (The "cryosphere" is the world's frozen areas, which
includes the polar regions and high mountain snowy peaks.)
“As the ... report makes clear, this is a global problem, which requires
action by everyone – countries, companies, and civil society – to solve,"
said Enric Sala, explorer in residence at the National Geographic
Society. "Inaction means the collapse of our life support system, with
catastrophic consequences for human society.”
The Green New Deal has its share of supporters and critics, but the often-
misunderstood plan is just the start of environmental politics. We explain. Just
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