Alejandra Borunda

Exactly. You know what I'm talking about here.

It showed up almost 10 years ago in the Paris Agreement of 2015. And it was the number that a lot of countries agreed to try to keep below in the massive project of trying to limit global warming around the world. Okay. Unfortunately, it's getting uncomfortably close. And so there's a lot of chatter happening at conferences like these where people are starting to ask, is that goal even possible?

It showed up almost 10 years ago in the Paris Agreement of 2015. And it was the number that a lot of countries agreed to try to keep below in the massive project of trying to limit global warming around the world. Okay. Unfortunately, it's getting uncomfortably close. And so there's a lot of chatter happening at conferences like these where people are starting to ask, is that goal even possible?

It showed up almost 10 years ago in the Paris Agreement of 2015. And it was the number that a lot of countries agreed to try to keep below in the massive project of trying to limit global warming around the world. Okay. Unfortunately, it's getting uncomfortably close. And so there's a lot of chatter happening at conferences like these where people are starting to ask, is that goal even possible?

And if not, what happens?

And if not, what happens?

And if not, what happens?

That is a great question, Emily. And basically in short, for many years now, but especially since this big special report by a bunch of scientists in 2018, scientists have warned that the risks of global warming could get substantially worse overnight. Once we go past that level of warming, that 1.5 C. Okay. This is Lila Warjawski.

That is a great question, Emily. And basically in short, for many years now, but especially since this big special report by a bunch of scientists in 2018, scientists have warned that the risks of global warming could get substantially worse overnight. Once we go past that level of warming, that 1.5 C. Okay. This is Lila Warjawski.

That is a great question, Emily. And basically in short, for many years now, but especially since this big special report by a bunch of scientists in 2018, scientists have warned that the risks of global warming could get substantially worse overnight. Once we go past that level of warming, that 1.5 C. Okay. This is Lila Warjawski.

She's a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

She's a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

She's a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

So what she's talking about here is just that, like, you get past 1.5 and you get more of the bad stuff that we're already getting. Heat waves that are even more intense than those we're having now, which is kind of terrifying, honestly. Or stronger hurricanes, that kind of stuff. Yeah, I mean, no one wants stronger hurricanes, the ones this season were truly devastating. Yeah, exactly.

So what she's talking about here is just that, like, you get past 1.5 and you get more of the bad stuff that we're already getting. Heat waves that are even more intense than those we're having now, which is kind of terrifying, honestly. Or stronger hurricanes, that kind of stuff. Yeah, I mean, no one wants stronger hurricanes, the ones this season were truly devastating. Yeah, exactly.

So what she's talking about here is just that, like, you get past 1.5 and you get more of the bad stuff that we're already getting. Heat waves that are even more intense than those we're having now, which is kind of terrifying, honestly. Or stronger hurricanes, that kind of stuff. Yeah, I mean, no one wants stronger hurricanes, the ones this season were truly devastating. Yeah, exactly.

And I think the other thing is that there's some even more alarming possibilities once we go past 1.5. Like, for example, if the Greenland ice sheet melts too much, the melt can actually become unstoppable. There's these processes that keep on going no matter what we do after that.

And I think the other thing is that there's some even more alarming possibilities once we go past 1.5. Like, for example, if the Greenland ice sheet melts too much, the melt can actually become unstoppable. There's these processes that keep on going no matter what we do after that.

And I think the other thing is that there's some even more alarming possibilities once we go past 1.5. Like, for example, if the Greenland ice sheet melts too much, the melt can actually become unstoppable. There's these processes that keep on going no matter what we do after that.

I used to have a professor back in climate science grad school, and he just, he always would say that we're just running the world's biggest science experiment. Like, let's see what happens when you pump the atmosphere full of carbon dioxide. Let's all stick around to find out.