We can help change the public conversation by the words we use when we talk about climate, and in particular by correcting the fallacies that often appear in articles and climate messaging.
This page is a work in progress. Please email info@ClimateEmergencyDeclaration.org to suggest changes or additions.
Say:
…rather than:
climate emergency
global warming, climate change
dangerous fossil fuels
polluting or dirty fossil fuels
safe renewable energy
clean energy
dangerous levels of atmospheric carbon
climate pollution, carbon pollution
Truth:
Fallacy:
There is no carbon budget left[*]
Our carbon budget will be used up in x years
We need net zero emissions ASAP and carbon drawdown to save coral reefs (a major source of food for millions of people)
Stop Adani to save the Reef
People are already dying due to climate impacts
Greenhouse gas emissions reductions of x per cent by 2030/2050 is a reasonable target
Sea level rise is already forcing people from their homes in Alaska, Bangladesh, and the Pacific
Sea level rise will be a problem later this century
Climate is already dangerous at around 1°C above pre-industrial times
A rise of 1.5°C above pre-industrial times is the safe limit
The Paris Accord will take us to 2.7°C–3.5°C in this century
The Paris Accord will limit warming to 2°C or even 1.5°C
People are already anxious about climate and will engage if you also spell out what we all can do to reverse the emergency
You can’t talk about a climate emergency because people will just switch off
We are already over 1°C, and even if we stop burning fossil fuels tomorrow, another 0.5°C rise is already locked in.
We should try to keep temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial times
[*] The IPCC reports that “to provide a 93% mid-value probability of not exceeding [a dangerous post-industrial increase of] 2°C, the concentration [of atmospheric greenhouse gases] would need to be stabilised at, or below, 350 ppm CO2-equivalent, that is, below current levels, which means no carbon budget left for 2°C.”