Species extinction, space debris, heat can lead to irreversible damage

2023-10-25 11:31:18

From species extinction to water shortages to the dangers of space debris, key risks could lead to irreversible damage if humanity does not take action. That is the message of the report “Interconnected Disaster Risks” by the United Nations University in Bonn, which was published on Wednesday. It shows six risk areas.

The report’s lead author, Zita Sebesvari, told the German Press Agency: “By excessively exploiting our water resources, destroying nature and biodiversity and polluting both the earth and space, we are moving dangerously close to the edge of several risk factors. Tipping points.” According to the report, such a point is reached when a system is no longer able to mitigate risks and fulfill certain functions. “Our actions endanger these important buffer capacities that we urgently rely on,” adds Sebesvari. The environmental disasters of recent years such as droughts, floods and hurricanes have shown this clearly.

The six areas of the report are the escalating extinction of species, the depletion of groundwater, the melting of glaciers, increasing space debris, heat that is unbearable for humans and the loss of insurability of buildings, for example.

Joachim Müller-Jung Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 142 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 12 Petra Ahne Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 5

The report concludes that solutions implemented today focus on delaying tipping points rather than truly addressing the root causes. “Our actions are geared too much to the now,” criticized Sebesvari. “The options of future generations are not taken into account enough.”