"It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land," stated a portion of the United Nations climate change report. The UN-appointed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report, known as the AR6 WG1, on August 9, 2021. It addresses the current state of the global climate, how climate change is shifting, how humans are the leading cause, and possible climate futures.

What causes climate change
Several factors are contributors, although fossil fuels play a particularly critical role in global warming. During the Industrial Revolution, humans began ramping up the use of fossil fuels through the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas for energy. Since the 19th century, our use of fossil fuels has drastically increased.

The burning of fossil fuels emits CO2, or carbon dioxide — a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the earth's atmosphere for lengthy time periods. Renewable energy such as wind power and hydropower are alternatives to fossil fuels, although we still burn fossil fuels in our daily lives from heating our homes, running a car, hopping on an airplane, and even turning on the lights. At a larger scale, manufacturing is a key player in fossil fuel emissions.

How humans have shifted the global climate
Like fossil fuels, deforestation releases CO2 into the atmosphere. Trees contain stored carbon, which is ejected when they are cut down or left to rot. Furthermore, deforestation destroys habitats and the species living in them.

The greenhouses gases released via the burning of fossil fuels has impacted our planet's oceans, because they absorb much of the CO2 we release. As a result, water temperatures have continued to rise, threatening marine wildlife threatened. Warmer water temperatures mean that there is less available oxygen, making it more difficult for oceanic life to breathe. Carbon dioxide in oceans also causes acidification, which makes it challenging for coral, shellfish, and plankton to rebuild their shells and structures adequately. This also threatens coastal communities that require seafood as a primary food source.

"Many changes due to past and future greenhouse gas emissions are irreversible for centuries to millennia, especially changes in the ocean, ice sheets, and global sea level," states the AR6 WG1 report.

According to the report, marine heatwaves have nearly doubled in frequency since the 1980s, and the loss of ice sheets and glaciers due to continued global warming has contributed to rising sea levels, further habitat destruction, and coastal erosion.

Predictions for North and Central America
The UN report provided regional expectations for future climate activity. North and Central America are predicted to see an increase in temperatures — specifically, extremely high temperatures. Sea levels are also projected to rise along most coasts, as are the intensity and duration of marine heatwaves and acidification.

Additionally, expect cyclones and storms to become more severe in certain regions. Western and Central North America are projected to experience a rise in droughts and fire weather, as well as precipitation.

Washington's climate challenges
"We're already locked in for a certain amount of warming. Even if we were to hit net-zero CO2 emissions tomorrow, the earth is going to keep warming," said Matt Rogers, a research scientist at the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group, which identifies climate challenges in the Northwest via scientific evidence and develops guidance on addressing climate change.

Rogers explained how the recently released IPCC AR6 WG1 report was not that different from previous reports, even though it has gained much attention this time around. One thing that has been different from previous IPCC reports, however, is that scientists have a stronger certainty that humans are the cause of our ongoing climate crisis.

Washington should expect to see an increase in heat throughout each season. Earlier springs and loss of snowpacks will result in more fire extremes: our forests will remain dryer for longer time periods, which allows for wildfires to spread at a more rapid rate. Climate scientists at Washington's Department of Ecology predict that by the 2040s, 1.1 million acres of land will succumb to wildfires. It is important to be mindful that human activities, including bonfires, smoking, and fireworks, are primary causes of wildfires in the state.

"Here in the Northwest, one of the big things we have been seeing is declining snowpacks — less snowpack in the winter because we have more precipitation falling as rain," described Rogers. An increase in precipitation and sea levels creates greater risk for winter flooding, and the loss of snowpacks as a result of rising temperatures will have a continued negative effect on our salmon population that relies on snowpack for feeding and spawning.

Rogers mentioned a marine heatwave event that occurred several years ago, which resulted in largescale marine life loss, and how similar patterns will likely continue for years to come. Both land and sea creatures remain stressed from adapting to the rise in temperatures, which is also not expected to change anytime soon.

Managing the change — it's not reversable
The IPCC report stated that "every tonne of CO2 emissions adds to global warming," and that in order to limit carbon dioxide emissions, the world must reach a net zero while also heavily reducing other greenhouse gas emissions.

When the coronavirus took the world by storm in early 2020, there was a temporary yet detectable reduction of air pollution, so working remotely and being on lockdown is good for planet Earth.

"We do have the power to prevent the worst from happening," stated Rogers, who went on to explain how, although we cannot reverse certain climate impacts, we can mitigate them. Rogers brought up how methods such as reducing, reusing, and recycling are helpful, although the issue is greater than merely one single individual.

"You're going to be hard pressed to make a dent in CO2 emissions globally without some sort of legislation that doesn't just limit private citizens but businesses and manufacturing industries as well," Rogers said. He also described how a big portion of tackling climate change is communicating with local policymakers who need to push the issue further in order to come up with preventive measures and prepare for rising challenges.

It's never too late to have hope
More recently, young adults have been grappling with the thought of bringing children into a world where the climate's future seems bleak, but Rogers responds to that view by saying, "We can make a difference."

"In my research I have seen a lot of people on the ground in Washington state take climate change into consideration and how they prepare their communities for upcoming changes and what we can expect as climate changes. It is really heartening. We can always do more, and there are people working on it, but it's going to take all of us," he said.

To learn more about how Washington is responding to climate change, visit https://ecology.wa.gov/Air-Climate/Climate-change/Greenhouse-gases/Reducing-greenhouse-gases.