Climate scientist echoes UN warning that 'humanity is on thin ice,' says previous predictions were not wrong

"PBS Newshour" invited climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe to discuss climate change predictions following the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Monday.

The IPCC, an organization of experts convened by the United Nations, published an extensive report warning about the disastrous effects that global warming predictions are expected to have on humanity by the early 2030s. Many social media users have called out these claims, pointing out that past climate doom predictions have been wrong for decades.

However, Hayhoe insisted the predictions were not wrong and instead the "uncertainty" comes from humanity.

"The previous predictions were not wrong. The uncertainty is us. The predictions were for what will happen depending on the choices we make. Prior to the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world was heading towards a future that was between four to five degrees Celsius warmer than today," Hayhoe said. "You might say, well, that does not sound that bad, it‘s four or five degrees warmer. But think of it in terms of the human body. The temperature of the planet has been as stable as that of the human body over the course of human civilization. If our body is running a fever of one or two degrees Celsius, or four to six degrees Celsius, that is life-threatening." 

UN REPORT PREDICTING CLIMATE CATASTROPHE IN 2030 MET WITH MOCKERY: ‘EVERY SINGLE PREDICTION’ HAS BEEN WRONG’ 

She insisted, "We have already, thanks to the Paris Agreement, reduced the amount of change we can expect by policies enacted by at least one degree. But we still need more, because every bit of warming carries a cost with it."

Nawaz commented on United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ statement also made that day when he warned that the "climate time bomb is ticking."

"Humanity is on thin ice, and the ice is melting fast," Guterres said. "Humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years. The rate of temperature rising in the last half century is the highest in 2,000 years."

Hayhoe commented that the "dire" warning from Guterres is "completely justified."

"It is completely justified. We scientists have been warning about the impacts of climate change on humans, and all other life on this planet, for decades. Yet our carbon emissions continue to rise. As the IPCC report says, the window of opportunity we have to make decisions that will lead us to a better future is closing rapidly," Hayhoe said.

UN SECRETARY GENERAL WARNS ‘HUMANITY IS ON THIN ICE’ FOLLOWING CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT

Although Hayhoe did not provide any specific suggestions on what can be done to counter climate change, she insisted that "it is possible" and that "the only question at this point is what are we waiting for."

"We‘re already seeing the impacts today in the way climate change is loading the weather dice against us. We know we’ve always had floods and droughts and hurricanes and heat waves, but, in a warming world, they are getting stronger and more dangerous. And they are impacting all of us, but that are particularly affecting those who are vulnerable and marginalized the most. The warmer the world gets, the more it endangers our food supply, our water supply, the safety of our homes, our own health, our economy and supply chains, the natural environment. Every aspect of life on earth, including our life on earth, is at risk the warmer this planet gets," Hayhoe said.

She concluded, "Climate change no longer a future issue. It is right here where we live. It is right now, and the time to fix it is also here and now."

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Back in 2019, the conservative-leaning Competitive Enterprise Institute put together a lengthy compilation of apocalyptic predictions dating back decades that did not come to pass.