Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, who arrived in the U.S. last month after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a carbon neutral ship, offered a 2018 report on the implications of climate change in lieu of an opening statement in her testimony before 2 congressional committees on Wednesday.
Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg to Congress: "I want you to listen to the scientists, and I want you to unite behind the science, and then I want you to take real action." pic.twitter.com/e1VZGjyJBi
— Axios (@axios) September 18, 2019
The big picture: The 2018 report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that global warming can be held to 1.5°C relative to preindustrial levels if countries take "unprecedented" action to stem greenhouse gas emissions.
- But the consequences will be far more severe if temperatures go past that level of 1.5°C, or 2.7°F, of warming.
- The report noted that there are already deadly impacts from the 1°C, or 1.8°F, of warming so far — including more severe and longer lasting heat waves, more heavy precipitation events, and ocean warming that is killing many of the planet's coral reefs.
Go deeper: More details on the IPCC's 2018 climate assessment
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