Looking
back at 2023, one thing is clear: it has been a record-breaking
year for climate change and the rise of global
temperatures. Data and analyses from
the nonprofit Climate Central show that the past
12-month period was the warmest ever in Earth's
history.
Since May, every single
month has broken records for being the hottest such
month ever. In the summer, globally we soared
past the 1.5 degree Celsius warming mark that, according
to the Paris Climate Accords, we'd been trying to avoid.
And ever since that moment, we have yet to see the Earth
sufficiently cool back down afterwards.
As a result, natural
disasters are on the rise. Heat waves tore
through South America, Africa, Japan, China, and
southern U.S. states. Floods and wildfires devastated
the east coast of the U.S. and Canada. A new report also
shows that every single part of the U.S. affected by
climate change, and that those impacts are growing
stronger and worse.
Climate change is
only increasing, building on itself more and
more — and we haven't even seen the worst consequences
yet.
Right now, COP28 — the latest
installment of the annual U.N. Climate Change Conference
— is being held in Dubai, and it will continue on until
December 12, 2023. World leaders have a chance
right now to face reality and decide to finally take
decisive action before it's too late. We don't have any
time left to lose.
Leaders must get serious
about fighting climate change, and must use COP28 as the
place to show this! Sign the petition
now!
