Among them are seventy scientists from the Netherlands and three from Leiden University: political philosopher Thomas Fossen, professor of family medicine Niels Chavannes and astronomer Zephyr Penoyre. So not all the signatories are climate scientists; they come from a variety of disciplines.

Scientist Rebellion, a sister organisation of Extinction Rebellion, is an international movement of scientists who are deeply concerned about the climate crisis and advocates that the scientific community ‘has the responsibility to step up and join the forefront of the climate movement’.

EXCEEDING THE LIMIT

The signatories believe that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is no longer realistic. That limit will be exceeded in the next ten years. As a result, it is no longer defensible for politicians to keep saying that limiting to 1.5 degrees is still feasible.

That is why they are calling on climate scientists to make a public statement before COP27 – the climate conference taking place in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 November – announcing that the 1.5 degree goal will not be met and all efforts must be made to limit warming to well below 2 degrees. In addition, they want rich countries to honour their pledge to provide 100 billion dollars to compensate poorer countries for damage caused by climate change.

This message followed shortly after the report published by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on 26 October that the increase in the level of greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 was higher than ever before. A day later, the Emission Gap Report 2022 was published, likewise concluding that there is no longer a plausible path to only 1.5 degrees of warming. On Tuesday, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency published a report revealing that the Dutch government’s climate plans are insufficient to achieve a 55 percent reduction in greenhouse gases, as compared to 1990, by 2030.

GLOBAL HEALTH

‘I’m very concerned’, says political philosopher Thomas Fossen, one of the Leiden signatories. ‘The situation forces us to reconsider what it means to be a scientist. Whether it’s even possible to remain on the side-lines, or whether you should take a more activist stance.’

‘It’s now entirely unlikely that we are staying below that 1.5 degrees goal’, adds Leiden professor of family medicine Niels Chavannes. ‘But we bury our heads in the sand and keep repeating that we will succeed. It’s utter nonsense.’

Chavannes does a lot of research on global health. ‘Globally, climate change has tangible health consequences, which is already a major problem at the moment. Air pollution has a tremendous amount of impact on your airways and even your brain, much more than we previously thought.

‘Ten to twenty percent of all deaths are due to global pollution. I want to shout from the rooftops that the negative impact on our well-being is enormous. Climate change is the number one greatest threat to public health. More dangerous than Covid-19, infection and the shortage of healthcare workers.’

RADICAL REFORM

‘What moves many scientists is the need to send a clear signal that a radical reform is needed’, Fossen says regarding the large number of non-climate researchers among the signatories. ‘There is a scientific consensus, science has done its job, but all we see is half-measures. As a result, many academics feel compelled to find other ways to raise awareness of the fact that we’re in a state of emergency.’

‘The climate problem is increasingly manifesting itself in other fields too’, says Chavannes. ‘This is causing scientists from other disciplines to take action as well.’

For example, he has seen first-hand that healthcare is a major source of pollution. ‘More than seven percent of our emissions come from healthcare. After an operation, entire garbage bags full of materials are thrown into the incinerator. All operating theatres in all hospitals have air ventilation systems running day and night. They’re never turned off. There are other options, for example running only two operating theatres per hospital. I don’t want to sit idly by waiting for the literal flood to hit us. We’re smart enough to do something about it.’