NEF Report: Simms on Climate Change

Rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could pass a critical tipping point and trigger runaway global warming within the next 100 months, according this report.

"We know climate change is a huge problem, but there's a missing ingredient of urgency," said Andrew Simms, policy director at the foundation.

According to the UN's experts, GHG levels in the atmosphere, which are at around 377 parts per million, would have to be stabilised at 400 ppm to avoid a rise of more than 2C.

Indeed, "No Lake is an Island"
- Paul

The final countdown
Time is fast running out to stop irreversible climate change, a group of global warming experts warns today. We have only 100 months to avoid disaster. Andrew Simms explains why we must act now - and where to begin

Andrew Simms
Friday August 1 2008
The Guardian

If you shout "fire" in a crowded theatre, when there is none, you understand that you might be arrested for irresponsible behaviour and breach of the peace. But from today, I smell smoke, I see flames and I think it is time to shout. I don't want you to panic, but I do think it would be a good idea to form an orderly queue to leave the building.

Because in just 100 months' time, if we are lucky, and based on a quite conservative estimate, we could reach a tipping point for the beginnings of runaway climate change. That said, among people working on global warming, there are countless models, scenarios, and different iterations of all those models and scenarios. So, let us be clear from the outset about exactly what we mean. MORE >>>

- Andrew Simms is policy director and head of the climate change programme at NEF - New Economics Foundation. For suggestions for what individuals and groups can do to take action, and links to a wide range of organisations supporting the focus on the 100 months countdown go to: onehundredmonths.org. The Green New Deal can be downloaded: neweconomics.org