Salutations, 2019,
It is understood that your recent years have been exceptionally challenging. You have endured relentless heatwaves, and the global momentum to mitigate the devastating consequences of climate change has been lamentably sluggish.
Despite an awareness of climate change and its associated greenhouse gas effects spanning over a century, concrete actions to curb carbon emissions have, at best, been superficial endeavors.
Humanity now stands at a critical juncture; continuing with the status quo for a few more years would inevitably lead to immense losses of biodiversity, habitats, and human lives.
The profound impact of escalating temperatures on the planet is already palpable.
However, the Earth exhibits a greater degree of solidarity than you might perceive. A significant majority of the global population acknowledges climate change and harbors apprehension regarding its future ramifications.
All optimism has not been extinguished.
The pressures you are currently experiencing have been accumulating over an extended period, positioning you on the cusp of a transformative era.
Following a particularly alarming IPCC report and widespread global protests, world leaders finally conceded that the prevailing approach to fossil fuel consumption was untenable.
The survival of our shared planet and all its inhabitants depended on this realization.
Initiated in Europe and subsequently expanding outwards, a swift transition to renewable energy sources commenced with progressively enhanced efficiency.
The nascent technologies were not without their imperfections, but through dedicated investment and research, they experienced continuous improvement. Subsequently, our planet’s energy needs were met through a synergistic combination of wind, solar, hydroelectric, and select nuclear power generation.
This concerted effort enabled humanity to maintain global warming below a 2-degree Celsius threshold, albeit by a narrow margin.
The Paris Agreement, once widely perceived as a doomed undertaking, ultimately materialized into a success.
The final coal-fired power station was decommissioned in 2068 – it is now a distant memory, much like the steam engine or the traditional telephone booth.
Our automotive transport relies on hydrogen fuel cells, and the atmospheric quality across the globe now rivals that experienced prior to the Industrial Revolution.
Nevertheless, even with merely two degrees of temperature increase, a substantial number of challenges persisted. Entire islands succumbed to rising sea levels, and a considerable influx of climate-displaced persons was recorded. Numerous species faced extinction, and the Great Barrier Reef sustained significant damage.
However, without the decisive and rapid transformations implemented during the 2020s, the predicament would have been immeasurably more dire.
Your descendants express their gratitude for those crucial actions.
Now, in the year 2089, new adversities and conflicts have emerged. Humanity, even in its future iterations, is not without its flaws. Yet, your handling of the climate crisis serves as a profound example and guiding principle for us.
You possess the capacity to succeed. We are all collectively supporting your endeavors.
Sincerely,
2089
This editorial was initially presented as a component of ScienceAlert’s specialized climate edition, published in solidarity with the global #ClimateStrike on September 20, 2019.
