In 2019, an ecologist at Oregon State University named William Ripple led the writing of an article declaring “clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency,” and laying out “vital signs” of a planet in distress. More than 11,000 scientists around the world co-signed the article before its publication.
Now, Ripple and colleagues argue the scenarios that climate experts use to grapple with the future aren’t adequate. In a paper published Tuesday in Environmental Research Letters, they call for climate models to incorporate a new “restorative pathway,” one on which the world would not just slash greenhouse gas emissions but bring about greater ecological health and social justice in the process.
