This week in our critical reflexion on typical causes for delaying, downgrading, or rejecting climate change action, we explore “Doomism”, which falls under the category of resignation fallacies.
The news of last weeks were characterised by reports about temperature records, marking July as the hottest month on record since 1880, extreme wildfires causing huge damage and fatalities, extreme drought versus extreme flooding in other parts of Europe. These events are in direct relationship to human made climate change, a fact that is clearly stated. Since climate change is getting worse with every day of non-action, it might seem easier to just accept the doom and enjoy our lives while it is still possible.
But we are not doomed! It is true that so far there has been done too little, but it’s not too late! We / our way of life (based on burning fossil fuels and sealing natural area) are the trigger for the currently occurring human-made climate change and we have a great influence on how it will continue. Different emission scenarios depict possible future climate conditions and clearly show that we still have the possibility of a liveable future!
But we need to accelerate and amplify the transition to a climate neutral lifestyle. Within KNOWING the impact of specific measures is quantified to identify feasible pathways, taking into account various sectors (e.g. transport, health) and human behaviour to enable the needed transition.
