"A new study categorizes climate feedback loops and the possibility they could push the climate past planetary tipping points."
"Recent climate projections may be underestimating the pace of global warming in an atmosphere damaged by greenhouse gas emissions, because the interaction of powerful climate feedback loops that can accelerate warming are not well-represented in key climate models, an international team of scientists concluded in a study published today in the journal One Earth. Their findings suggest that efforts to reduce emissions require even more urgency to avoid worst-case climate outcomes, the team reported.
“If amplifying feedbacks are strong enough, the result is likely tragic climate change moving beyond anything humans can control,” said co-author Bill Ripple, an ecologist at Oregon State University, and co-founder of the Alliance of World Scientists, which has 26,000 members in 180 countries urging decisive implementation of policies to curb global warming and meet the commitments governments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
“We would like to see an IPCC special report that focuses on the many risky climate feedbacks and the possible acceleration towards planetary tipping points,” he said. “It’s important to understand the most optimistic estimates, but we also need to be informed of potential worst-case scenarios.”"
Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News February 17, 2023.
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