A team of scientists led by Oregon State University researchers have used a novel 500-year dataset to frame what they describe as a “restorative” pathway through which humanity can avoid the worst ecological and social outcomes of climate change.
The researchers say that their “paradigm shifting” plan can support climate modeling and discussion by providing a set of actions that strongly emphasize social and economic justice as well as environmental sustainability, In addition to charting a possible new course for society.
Oregon State’s William Ripple, former OSU postdoctoral researcher Christopher Wolf and collaborators argue that their scenario should be included in climate models along with the five “shared socioeconomic pathways,” or SSPs, that are used by the U.N.”s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
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“We understand that our proposed scenario may be a major challenge to implement given current trends in emissions, a lack of political will and widespread social denial, but its merits can’t even be honestly debated if it’s not included in the suite of options,” said Ripple, distinguished professor of ecology in the OSU College of Forestry.
“We’re arguing for radical incrementalism: achieving massive change through small, short-term steps. And we’re offering a much-needed contrast to many other climate scenarios, which may be more aligned with the status quo, which isn’t working.”
Ripple and co-authors from the United States, the Netherlands and Australia present their restorative pathway in a paper published in Environmental Research Letters. They say the pathway is inspired by a unique compilation of Earth system variables that vividly illustrate how humanity’s resource demands have exploded since 1850, indicating ecological overshoot.
Story was adapted from Phys.org.
