Hottest year on record also marks a major failure to achieve international climate goals

2024 was a grim milestone in the history of our planet. Dr. Juan Declet-Barreto, a senior social scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Salon that he and his colleagues perceive the warming as a long-term trend and that extreme weather events like the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires will only get worse “if policymakers continue to be derelict in their responsibility to address the climate crisis.” “The fossil fuel industry has a leading role in creating this hell that is causing death, destruction and misery all over the planet — and at home as we can tragically see unfold in front of us in Southern California,” Declet-Barreto explained. Indeed, in 2023, CO2 emissions reached a new record high of 37.4 billion tonnes, despite the explosion of solar and wind.” Bennett argues that climate change is not the underlying problem, but rather a symptom of “ecological overreach.” NASA scientist @ClimateHuman : 'THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING… These disasters will get much much worse… It's going to be a nightmare that we can barely imagine… impacts to our food system… heat waves that kill millions of people in a matter of a few days…' #LosAngelesFire pic.twitter.com/fivpNNrsRT — Matthew Todd 🌏🔥 January 12, 2025 “We live on a planet with finite resources, and there are too many of us using too much,” Bennett said. “It will all get worse if we continue to extract and burn fossil fuels.” Prof. Joeri Rogelj, director of research at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and Environment, Imperial College London, explained in a statement that the 1.5 degree threshold was established to limit human suffering. Every fraction of a degree — whether 1.4, 1.5 or 1.6°C — brings more harm to people and ecosystems, underscoring the continued need for ambitious emissions cuts.” The Los Angeles wildfires are the latest example of this crisis, with experts agreeing that climate change exacerbated the fires by first flooding the area, allowing tons of plants to spring up followed by unnaturally warm and dry conditions that created perfect fuel when the Santa Ana winds hit.