“In 2014, we must turn the greatest collective challenge facing humankind today – climate change – into the greatest opportunity for common progress towards a sustainable future. Next year is the year from climate action.”
With these words, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon christened 2014 as “the year for climate action.” As 2014 starts, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the past year of climate science and counting down our top fiveClimasphere posts for 2013.
5. Human influence on climate clear, IPCC report says
A new assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that it is “extremely likely” (greater than 95 percent probability) that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.
4. Jeremy Leggett: Energy of Nations
In an exclusive post for Climasphere, British green energy entrepreneur, author, and activist Jeremy Leggett examines the human tendency for willful blindness in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence for man-made change.
3. Typhoon Haiyan must be a wake-up call at UN climate talks, warn aid agencies
Following the tragedy of Typhoon Haiyan and growing tensions between rich and poor nations on the question of compensation for countries slammed by the impacts of climate change, the Disaster Emergencies Committee (DEC) warns delegates at the COP19 climate conference to expect more Typhoon Haiyan-style disasters if urgent action is not taken.
2. What it means to be 95 percent certain about climate change
Associated Press science writer Seth Borenstein examines why climate change deniers have looked at 95 percent and scoffed, and why they are mistaken to do so, arguing that in science, 95 percent certainty is often considered the gold standard for certainty.
“This is science, these are facts, and action is our only option.” In this frank statement, first published exclusively on the Climasphere website, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry uses the release of the UN IPCC’s first Working Group Report to take on the question of the legitimacy of climate change, warning that “[T]hose who deny the science or choose excuses over action are playing with fire.”
Resolve to increase your climate science awareness in 2014: Join Climasphere today.