The authors of the study said the potential for climate change to lead to worldwide societal collapse or even human extinction is a “dangerously underexplored topic”.
According to the authors, although the catastrophe has a small chance of occurring, given the uncertainties in future emissions and the climate system, we should not rule out cataclysmic scenarios.
“Facing a future of accelerating climate change while blind to worst-case scenarios is naïve risk management and fatally foolish at worst,” the scientists said, adding that there were “ample reasons” to suspect global heating could cause an apocalyptic disaster.
The international team of experts argues the world needs to prepare for the possibility of a “climate endgame”. “Analysing the mechanisms for these extreme consequences could help galvanise action, improve resilience, and inform policy,” they said.
The extensive analysis proposes a research agenda, which includes what the researchers call...
