[Editorial] New Global Warming Report Warns of Possible Extinction

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a shocking second report yesterday. According to the report, if global warming continues at the current rate, the earth’s temperature will rise by 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius, and 20 to 30 percent of animal and plant species will go extinct. If the temperature goes up more than 3.5 degrees Celsius, most of the major species will be endangered, and humans, who are at the top of the food chain, will also face danger. Moreover, a mere 1.5-degree rise in temperature will threaten 1.7 billion people with water shortages and 30 million with starvation. Water shortages will inevitably lead to conflicts between countries and regions, heightening geopolitical tension.

The Korean peninsula is not immune to a possible crisis. The Meteorological Research Institute forecasts that the average temperature on the peninsula will climb more than five degrees by 2080. A six-degree rise in temperature will kill or endanger all the species in Korea’s forests because plants cannot keep up with rapid climatic zone movement. Considering the current average temperature gap between Seoul and Jeju is 3.3 degrees, one can easily guess how much impact a five-degree increase will have on the ecosystem.

The report was supposed to come out yesterday in Brussels, but was delayed at the last minute in the face of opposition from the U.S. and China, the world’s number one and two emitters of greenhouse gases, and Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer. This indicates that the establishment and implementation of a global cooperation system will not be easy.

The advanced and developing countries are still pointing the finger at each other over heat-trapping gas emissions. However, the IPCC report reminds the world once again of the fact that all humanity is in the same boat. The damage from global warming does not discriminate, even if the degree of damage differs from one country to another. What is needed now is understanding and decency as a responsible member of humanity, not more narrow national interest.