Scientists warn of 'societal collapse' on Earth with worsening climate situation

Scientists have warned that we face “societal collapse” on Earth due to the growing effects of climate change.

Experts have claimed that “much of the very fabric” of life now hangs in the balance after new research showed that “we are still moving in the wrong direction” with fossil fuel emissions at an “all-time high”. The study saw scientists admit they felt it was their “moral duty” to “alert humanity to the growing threats that we face”.

The fifth edition report of an annual State of the Climate comes from a professor of ecology at Oregon State University, William Ripple and his colleagues. The study was published in the scientific journal BioScience and outlines several key issues with climate change that need addressing.

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The study says that among 35 “planetary vital signs”, 25 are currently at record-breaking extremes. Fossil fuels are included in those figures, which show higher-than-ever surface temperature, ocean acidity, and extreme weather . It also claims that there is an “overshoot”, where human consumption is outstripping the Earth’s ability to regenerate natural resources.

The study said: “Along with the broader danger of overshoot, climate change could contribute to a collapse by increasing the likelihood of catastrophic risks such as international conflict or by causing multiple stresses, resulting in system-wide synchronous failures." The study also suggested that based on previous research one-third of the world's population could be living outside the "human niche" by the end of the century.

That development would see billions of people living outside the temperature range that has sustained human life - an average between 11C and 15C - for thousands of years. Scientists conducting the study concluded that the “future of humanity hangs in the balance” and said a “bold” approach is needed to combat climate change.

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They also claimed that the COP meetings, reactions from world leaders, and other warnings we have already seen have only made “minor headway." In a more positive outlook, the study revealed that deforestation in Brazil has declined, and there is now a record consumption of solar and wind energy. However, more is needed to combat the ongoing negative decline we are experiencing in the global climate.

In 2015, the Paris Agreement aimed to limit global warming of the world’s average surface temperature to “well below" 2C with a target of 1.5C. Researchers said: “Tragically, we are failing to avoid serious impacts, and we can now only hope to limit the extent of the damage.”