Can a Climate Catastrophe Be Prevented?

Humanity’s most urgent issue is whether a climate catastrophe can be prevented. Alarming trends and recent extreme climate events suggest that the world is approaching a critical tipping point.
In 2024, heat waves were so frequent and intense that by early November, the year was declared the hottest in recorded history—breaking the previous record set just one year earlier in 2023. Astoundingly, all 13 months from June 2023 to June 2024 set new monthly temperature records. Additionally, 25 of the 26 .hottest years on record have occurred in this century.
This relentless warming is driving an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts, wildfires, storms, and floods. Reports of devastating climate events now occur almost daily. For instance, in November 2024, Spain was overwhelmed by catastrophic flooding after receiving a year’s rainfall in just eight hours.

Also, the southeastern United States was battered by two massive hurricanes within weeks. These storms, often more severe due to rising sea levels, higher atmospheric moisture, and warmer seas, highlight the dire consequences of a warming planet.
In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), comprising climate experts worldwide, issued a dire warning: “Unprecedented changes” must occur by 2030 to avert a climate catastrophe. Yet, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise unabated. UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently declared the situation a “code red for humanity,” emphasizing that delay equates to devastation.
While severe climate impacts already mark the present, the future looms even darker for several key reasons:

1. Current catastrophic events have unfolded with global temperatures approximately 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels. Yet, scientists project that this rise could at least double by the end of the century, intensifying the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.

2. Climate experts identify 350 parts per million (ppm) of atmospheric CO₂ as the threshold for avoiding the worst climate impacts. However, CO₂ levels now exceed 420 ppm and continue to increase by 2–3 ppm annually

3. Self-reinforcing positive feedback mechanisms could lead to an irreversible tipping point when climate spins out of control. For example, as temperatures rise, increased air conditioning usage leads to higher fossil fuel consumption, which emits more greenhouse gases, further exacerbating global warming in a vicious cycle.

4. Military experts warn of unprecedented refugee crises caused by heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods. This mass displacement could fuel social and political instability, terrorism, and conflict, as already evidenced by climate-induced migrations contributing to civil wars in Sudan and Syria.

Israel faces especially acute climate risks. The Middle East is warming faster than most other regions and is becoming increasingly arid. Rising sea levels threaten Israel’s coastal plain, home to much of the nation’s population and infrastructure.
Preventing a climate catastrophe must become the central focus of human civilization. Every aspect of modern life should be reevaluated to minimize carbon footprints. Necessary actions include transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources like solar and wind, producing more efficient technologies, improving public transportation, and promoting recycling and composting.
However, the most urgent and impactful change is transitioning away from animal-based agriculture and diets. This shift is crucial for two reasons:

First, farmed animals, particularly cows, emit methane—a greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO₂  per unit weight in the 10 – 15 years it is in the atmosphere. Reducing livestock numbers would significantly lower methane emissions.

Second, animal agriculture currently occupies over 40% of the world’s ice-free land for grazing and feed crop production. Transitioning to plant-based diets would free up this land for reforestation, which could sequester vast amounts of CO₂ and help bring atmospheric levels back to safer thresholds. Despite these opportunities, the opposite trend persists: forests are being cleared to expand animal agriculture, propelling humanity toward ecological collapse. 

As systems engineer Dr. Sailesh Rao argues in his seminal paper Animal Agriculture Is the Leading Cause of Climate Change, the total impact of animal agriculture—including its “opportunity cost” of lost reforestation—accounts for 87% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

To avert catastrophe and secure a livable, environmentally sustainable world for future generations, society must embrace plant-based diets on a large scale. This transition need not feel like a sacrifice; today, plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy offer nearly identical taste, texture, and appearance. With growing awareness and innovation, a plant-based future is not just possible—it’s necessary. It would be consistent with Jewish teachings on preserving our health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, reducing hunger, and pursuing peace.

Reforestation and dramatically reducing meat consumption are critical steps to mitigate climate change. Preventing a climate catastrophe requires immediate, collective action—and a transformation of our relationship with food, the environment, and one another. 

There is no Planet B or effective Plan B.c

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