Anno 2014 wordt de urgentie van de klimaatuitdaging erkend door de 'klassieke' internationale organisaties als de VN, de Wereldbank, het IEA, de OESO, of zelfs een kennisbedrijf als PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Hun lijvige rapporten bevestigen waar de wetenschappelijk wereld al lang uit is.
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"De Groene schok is voor mij de belangrijkste. In de eerste plaats bedreigt die het voortbestaan van de mens. Ten tweede zullen we wereldwijd allemaal moeten samenwerken. De groene schok uit zich bijvoorbeeld in grote klimaatwijzigingen."
Geert Noels, econoom, Canvas docu Econoshock 2.0, 18 september 2013
Geen tijd om deze allemaal te lezen? Onderstaande citaten zeggen evenveel in minder woorden.
Citaten - Vlaanderen/Nederland
“Op mijn lijstje van thema’s die de inzet zouden moeten zijn van de verkiezingen, prijkt het milieuprobleem en de opwarming van de aarde helemaal bovenaan. Niet dat er geen andere problemen zijn: werkloosheid, ongelijkheid, pensioenen, eurocrisis, criminaliteit. Maar ik pik er het milieu uit, omdat het meer dan de andere een existentieel probleem vormt voor onze samenleving en vooral de samenleving waarin onze kinderen zullen moeten leven.”
Paul De Grauwe, econoom, De Standaard, 23 aug 2013.
"Voor de eerste keer in onze geschiedenis zitten we in de situatie dat we moeten nadenken over hoe we de basis van onze beschaving veilig kunnen stellen. ...
Ik heb nog nooit gezien dat grote fundamentele veranderingen van bovenaf komen. Het moet van onderuit groeien vooraleer politici de legitimiteit hebben om ermee aan de slag te gaan. Dat punt komt steeds dichterbij, maar het is nog niet bereikt”
Herman Wijffels, econoom, oud-voorzitter Rabobank, Interview Plan C, herbekijk zijn lezing op het Plan C event
Herman Wijffels, econoom, oud-voorzitter Rabobank, Interview Plan C, herbekijk zijn lezing op het Plan C event
"Een soberheidsbeleid alleen gaat het niet doen. Je moet ook investeren in wat nog wel de toekomst is. Er zijn nog altijd grote maatschappelijke behoeftes. Op het vlak van de ecologische uitdagingen en dergelijke: daar kan uw industriële ruggegraat echt wel door versterkt worden, als de overheid daar een visie in ontwikkelt."
Ivan Van de Cloot, econoom, op Radio Clara, Trio, 26/4/2014.
”We staan momenteel voor vier crisissen. Er is de economisch-financiële crisis. Daarnaast is er de eurocrisis: die vloeide voort uit de eerste maar zou er hoe dan ook gekomen zijn. De fundamenteelste crisis is de ecologische. Tot slot is er, ietwat provincialer, de Belgische crisis.”
Philippe Van Parijs, filosoof, 2013, artikel MO
Philippe Van Parijs, filosoof, 2013, artikel MO
"De Groene schok is voor mij de belangrijkste. In de eerste plaats bedreigt die het voortbestaan van de mens. Ten tweede zullen we wereldwijd allemaal moeten samenwerken. De groene schok uit zich bijvoorbeeld in grote klimaatwijzigingen."
Geert Noels, econoom, Canvas docu Econoshock 2.0, 18 september 2013
“Bij mij is ook heel laat pas het idee gerijpt dat de ecologische catastrofe het grote probleem van deze tijd is. De vraag is nu: wat gaat de jonge generatie er mee doen? Ik beken schuld voor mijn generatie, maar don't look back in anger: er moet nú gehandeld worden. Als ik een millenial was, zou ik even woest zijn als ik nu als babyboomer ben over wat onlangs op de klimaattop in Durban gebeurd is - en ik ben zelf bereid om flink in te leveren om dat ecologische probleem aan te pakken. Anders wordt de last van de volgende generaties gi-gan-tisch."
Frank Van Massenhove, manager FOD Sociale zekerheid, Humo 30 januari, 2012
Frank Van Massenhove, manager FOD Sociale zekerheid, Humo 30 januari, 2012
Citaten - Internationaal
“Unless we act dramatically and quickly, science tells us our climate and our way of life are literally in jeopardy. Denial of the science is malpractice. There are those who say we can’t afford to act. But waiting is truly unaffordable. The costs of inaction are catastrophic.”
John Kerry, Secretary of State USA, Press Statement, 13 maart 2014
"For all the immediate challenges that we gather to address this week -- terrorism, instability, inequality, disease
-- there’s one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate. ...We cannot condemn our children, and their children, to a future that is beyond their capacity to repair. Not when we have the means -- the technological innovation and the scientific imagination -- to begin the work of repairing it right now."
Barack Obama, president VS, toespraak op de VN-klimaattop, herbekijk zijn speech
I will not be a silent witness to the crime of dooming our present and destroying their right to a sustainable future.
It is my obligation – our obligation – to do everything to stop the climate crisis before it stops us.
António Guterres, VN secretaris-generaal, 23 september 2019
“It is my hope that this report shocks us into action. Even for those of us already committed to fighting climate change, I hope it causes us to work with much more urgency. This report spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4ºC, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes. The 4º scenario’s are devastating: the inundation of coastal cities,
increasing risks for food production potentially leading to higher malnutrition rates; many dry regions becoming drier, wet regions wetter; ... And most importantly, a 4ºC world is so different from the current one that it comes with high uncertainty and new risks that threaten our ability to anticipate and plan for future adaptation needs."
dr Jim Yong Kim, president Wereldbank, 2012
“We have a responsibility and a golden opportunity to act. Energy-related CO2 emissions are at historic highs; under current policies, we estimate that energy use and CO2 emissions would increase by a third by 2020, and almost double by 2050. This would likely send global temperatures at least 6°C higher. Such an outcome would confront future generations with significant economic, environmental and energy security hardships – a legacy that I know none of us wishes to leave behind.” -
IEA, World Energy Outlook 2011
John Kerry, Secretary of State USA, Press Statement, 13 maart 2014
-- there’s one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate. ...We cannot condemn our children, and their children, to a future that is beyond their capacity to repair. Not when we have the means -- the technological innovation and the scientific imagination -- to begin the work of repairing it right now."
Barack Obama, president VS, toespraak op de VN-klimaattop, herbekijk zijn speech
"Make no mistake: without concerted action, the very future of our planet is in peril... Unless we take action on climate change, future generations will be roasted, toasted, fried and grilled.”
Christine Lagarde, voorzitter IMF, 23 januari 2013
Science tells us that on our current path, we face at least 3-degrees Celsius of global heating by the end of the century. I will not be there, but my granddaughters will. And your grandchildren, too.
I refuse to be an accomplice in the destruction of their home and only home.I will not be a silent witness to the crime of dooming our present and destroying their right to a sustainable future.
It is my obligation – our obligation – to do everything to stop the climate crisis before it stops us.
António Guterres, VN secretaris-generaal, 23 september 2019
'To waste this opportunity in Katowice would compromise our last best chance to stop runaway climate change. It would not only be immoral, it would be suicidal'
António Guterres, VN secretaris-generaal, 11 december 2018increasing risks for food production potentially leading to higher malnutrition rates; many dry regions becoming drier, wet regions wetter; ... And most importantly, a 4ºC world is so different from the current one that it comes with high uncertainty and new risks that threaten our ability to anticipate and plan for future adaptation needs."
dr Jim Yong Kim, president Wereldbank, 2012
“The change in the world’s climate, which is constantly becoming clearer, is the biggest problem that our civilization has ever been confronted with.The more I learn about climate change, the more I find myself in agreement with this statement. It is only through the recognition of the critical importance of this issue that we will be able to prioritize our resources intelligently and appropriately to deal with this enormous challenge. We have only one planet. Preserving it for future generations must be our top priority.”
Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor van de Britse regering
“We have a responsibility and a golden opportunity to act. Energy-related CO2 emissions are at historic highs; under current policies, we estimate that energy use and CO2 emissions would increase by a third by 2020, and almost double by 2050. This would likely send global temperatures at least 6°C higher. Such an outcome would confront future generations with significant economic, environmental and energy security hardships – a legacy that I know none of us wishes to leave behind.” -
Richard H Jones, IEA Deputy Executive Director Ambassador, 2012
“Delaying action is a false economy: for every $1 of investment avoided in the power sector before 2020 an additional $4.3 would need to be spent after 2020 to compensate for the increased emissions.” IEA, World Energy Outlook 2011
“Even if the current rate of global decarbonisation were to double, we would still be on course for six degrees of warming by the end of the century. Confining the rise to two degrees requires a sixfold reduction in carbon intensity: far beyond the scope of current policies.”
George Monbiot, op basis van PwC rapport, 2012
“It would cause a mass extinction of almost all life and probably reduce humanity to a few struggling groups of embattled survivors clinging to life near the poles. Very few species could adapt in time to the abruptness of the transition, he suggested. With the tropics too hot to grow crops, and the sub-tropics too dry, billions of people would find themselves in areas of the planet which are essentially uninhabitable. This would probably even include southern Europe, as the Sahara desert crosses the Mediterranean. As the ice-caps melt, hundreds of millions will also be forced to move inland due to rapidly-rising seas. As world food supplies crash, the higher mid-latitude and sub-polar regions would become fiercely-contested refuges”
“It would cause a mass extinction of almost all life and probably reduce humanity to a few struggling groups of embattled survivors clinging to life near the poles. Very few species could adapt in time to the abruptness of the transition, he suggested. With the tropics too hot to grow crops, and the sub-tropics too dry, billions of people would find themselves in areas of the planet which are essentially uninhabitable. This would probably even include southern Europe, as the Sahara desert crosses the Mediterranean. As the ice-caps melt, hundreds of millions will also be forced to move inland due to rapidly-rising seas. As world food supplies crash, the higher mid-latitude and sub-polar regions would become fiercely-contested refuges”
Mark Lynas, wetenschapsjournalist over wat 6°C opwarming kan betekenen, citaat Independent
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