Summer in Australia.
So here is a thing (and FYI, 49.5 °Celsius = 121.1 °Fahrenheit):

Yesterday I wrote about the first National Climate Risk Assessment report released by the Australian Government.

Turns out that the UK government has likewise released a report, titled somewhat bleakly: Global Biodiversity Loss, Ecosystem Collapse and National Security.

Download the full report (pdf)

It was due to be released last year, but attempts were made to bury it…”because its conclusions were “too negative”, and because it would draw attention to the government’s failure to act.¹“

The reports key judgements include (highlighting mine):

1. Cascading risks of ecosystem degradation are likely to include geopolitical instability, economic insecurity, conflict, migration and increased inter-state competition for resources.
2. Ecosystem degradation is occurring across all regions. Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse (irreversible loss of function beyond repair)
3. All countries are exposed to the risks of ecosystem collapse within and beyond their borders.

You can check out the report yourself for all the findings, but of particular concern is what was considered too alarmist to include in the report.

George Monbiot, writing for The Guardian:

But what was cut from the report is, according to The Times, even graver, including a warning that the shrinkage of glaciers in the Himalayas, causing declining river flow, would “almost certainly escalate tensions” between China, India and Pakistan, leading to the possibility of nuclear war. Again, some of us have been trying to persuade governments to focus on this threat with little success.

1. Source. ↩︎