Fire damage in the city of Detroit, Oregon, and the Oregon Cascades can be seen in this aerial image. Credit: Oregon State University.
Key points:
- Scientists identified 27 global warming accelerators, known as amplifying feedback loops.
- Most of the feedback loops examined significantly increase warming because of their connection to greenhouse gas emissions.
- The paper calls for “immediate and massive” emissions reductions.
Scientists have discovered 27 global warming accelerators, known as amplifying feedback loops, that they say adds urgency to the need to respond to the climate crisis.
In climate science, amplifying feedback loops are situations where climate-caused alterations trigger a process that leads to more warming, which in turn intensifies the alteration. One example is the warming in the Arctic, which leads to melting sea ice. This in turn results in further warming because sea water absorbs rather than reflects solar radiation.
In a paper published in One Earth, the international research team says some of the feedback loops identified are not fully accounted for in today’s climate models. The new data could provide a roadmap for policymakers aiming to avoid the severe consequences of a warming planet.
Oregon State University postdoctoral scholar Christopher Wolf and professor William Ripple led the study, which looked at 41 climate change feedbacks in all.
“Many of the feedback loops we examined significantly increase warming because of their connection to greenhouse gas emissions,” Wolf said. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the most extensive list available of climate feedback loops, and not all of them are fully considered in climate models. What’s urgently needed is more research and modeling and an accelerated cutback of emissions.”
The paper makes two calls to action for “immediate and massive” emissions reductions, including minimizing short-term warming and mitigating the possible major threats from climate tipping points due to amplifying feedback loops.
Researchers say even modest warming is expected to heighten the likelihood that the Earth will cross various tipping points, causing big changes in the planet’s climate system. These interactions could cause a permanent shift away from the Earth’s current climate state to one that threatens the survival of humans and other life forms.
“In the worst case, if amplifying feedbacks are strong enough, the result is likely tragic climate change that’s moved beyond anything humans can control,” Ripple said. “We need a rapid transition toward integrated Earth system science because the climate can only be fully understood by considering the functioning and state of all Earth systems together. This will require large-scale collaboration, and the result would provide better information for policymakers.”