Booth Id:
EAEV012
Category:
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Year:
2021
Finalist Names:
Chimbwanda, Marlvern (School: Mufakose 1 High School)
Abstract:
Given the current rate of emissions and level of human-induced warming, and assuming the emissions trend over the past five years continues, how long will it be before the remaining allowable emissions for 1.5°C are used up? How can we keep track of these thresholds? The Climate Clock acts as a public line in the sand and gives us the date and act as a measuring stick by which we can evaluate our progress. The clock follows the methodology of the carbon clock made by the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), which uses data from the recent IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. The report states that starting from 2018, a carbon dioxide budget of 420 Gt of CO2 gives us a 67% chance to stay under 1.5°C of warming. The Climate Clock shows two numbers. One, in red, is a timer, counting down how long it will take, at current rates of emissions, to burn through our “carbon budget” — the amount of CO2 that can still be released into the atmosphere while limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This is our deadline, the time we have left to take decisive action to keep warming under the 1.5°C threshold. The second number, in green, is tracking the growing % of the world’s energy currently supplied from renewable sources. This is our lifeline. Simply put, we need to get our lifeline to 100% before our deadline reaches 0.