[Coral-List] ScientistsForFuture international letter

Fri Apr 5 14:35:01 UTC 2019

Dear Coral-List,

You are aware of the School strike for climate movement, initiated by the
pupil Greta Thunberg in Sweden, and now international (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_strike_for_climate).

This youth fighting for climate calls scientists for their support. The
fight is international, and our support has to be so.

This is why I share here on the coral-list the invitation of scientists
from Belgium, ScientistsForFuture, to collectively sign an international
letter of support (watch out for the deadline):

Severine Fourdrilis

Dear colleague,

We invite you to become an initial signatory of the ScientistsForFuture
(International) support letter for the climate protesters. The letter will
be published in a renowned journal, with the list of initial signatories
attached.

*Deadline is 8 April noon UTC.*

We invite

– scholars, researchers, and scientists from all disciplines,

– active as well as formerly active.

We will solve the sustainability and climate crisis only by widespread
collaboration.

If you have previously signed a similar letter, we encourage you to sign
again. We cannot transfer signatures from earlier letters. Even though
there are many similarities, the letters are ultimately different.

*Please encourage other trusted colleagues to sign (e. g., please forward
this letter).*

We would like to have initial signatories from as many countries as
possible – please think whether you can help to find signatories from other
countries in the world!

*PLEASE SIGN HERE:*

https://twitter.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2de01bae722e6edd723033568&id=5afc953de9

*(The text of the letter is shown there and also at the bottom of this
mail)*

Sincerely,

Gregor Hagedorn, Peter Kalmus, Michael Mann, Sara Vicca, Joke Van den
Berge, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Dominique Bourg, Jan Rotmans, Roope
Kaaronen, Stefan Rahmstorf, Helga Kromp-Kolb, Gottfried Kirchengast, Reto
Knutti, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Philippe Thalmann, Raven Cretney, Alison
Green, Kevin Anderson, Martin Hedberg, Douglas Nilsson, Amita Kuttner,
Katharine Hayhoe

___________________________________________________

*Letter/Statement: The Concerns of young protesters are justified*

The world’s youth have begun to persistently demonstrate for the protection
of the climate and other foundations of human well-being. As scientists and
scholars who have recently initiated similar letters of support in our
countries, we call for our colleagues across all disciplines and from the
entire world to support these young climate protesters. We declare: Their
concerns are justified and supported by the best available science. The
current measures for protecting the climate and biosphere are deeply
inadequate.

By signing the Paris Agreement of 2015, all nation states committed under
international law to keep global warming well below 2°C. In addition, all
countries have promised efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The
scientific community has clearly concluded that a global warming of 2°C
instead of 1.5°C would substantially increase climate-related impacts and
the risk of some becoming irreversible. Moreover, given the uneven
distribution of most impacts, 2°C of warming would further exacerbate
existing global inequalities.

It is critical to immediately begin a rapid reduction in CO2 and other
greenhouse gas emissions. The degree of climate crisis that humanity will
experience in the future will be determined by our cumulative emissions;
rapid reduction now will limit the damage. For example, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently assessed that
halving CO2 emissions by 2030 (relative to 2010 levels) and globally
achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 (as well as strong reductions in
other greenhouse gases) would allow a 50% chance of staying below 1.5°C of
warming. Considering that industrialized countries produced more of and
benefited more from previous emissions, they have an ethical responsibility
to achieve this transition more quickly than the world as a whole.

Many social, technological, and nature-based solutions already exist. The
young protesters rightfully demand that these solutions be used to achieve
a sustainable society. Without bold and focused action, their future is in
critical danger. There is no time to wait until they are in power.

Politicians have the huge responsibility of creating the necessary
framework conditions in a timely manner. Policies are needed to make
climate-friendly and sustainable action simple and cost-effective, and
climate-damaging action unattractive and expensive. Examples include
effective CO2 prices and regulations; cessation of subsidies for
climate-damaging actions and products; efficiency standards; social
innovations; and massive, directed investment in solutions such as
renewable energy, cross-sector electrification, and public transport
infrastructure. A socially fair distribution of the costs and benefits of
climate action will require deliberate attention, but it is both possible
and essential.

The enormous grassroots mobilization of the youth climate
movement—variously known as e.g. Fridays for Future, School (or Youth)
Strike 4 Climate, Youth for (or 4) Climate, Youth Climate Strike—shows that
young people understand the situation. We approve and support their demand
for rapid and forceful action. We see it as our social, ethical, and
scholarly responsibility to state in no uncertain terms: Only if humanity
acts quickly and resolutely can we limit global warming, halt the ongoing
mass extinction of animal and plant species, and preserve the natural basis
for the food supply and well-being of present and future generations. This
is what the young people want to achieve. They deserve our respect and full
support.

*..............................................................................*

*Séverine FOURDRILIS*, *PhD*
*Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS)
<http://www.naturalsciences.be/> *

*Directorate Taxonomy and Phylogeny*

*Vautier street, 29*

*B-1000 Brussels*

*Belgium*

*sfourdrilis at naturalsciences.be <sfourdrilis at naturalsciences.be>*

*+32 (0)2 627 42 85*

*be.linkedin.com/in/fourdrilis
<https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=AAIAAA5y9CEBVqt8HiVCp7SVuyByqha2uQVlahs&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic>*

*..............................................................................*