Obialo Iwunze Osigwe (OD, MPH)
Within the last quarter of the century, many peer-reviewed publications have been written on climate change, its impacts on the environment and human health, as well as mitigation strategies. Since its establishment in 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released 6 landmark reports (1990, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2014, and 2023) on the physical science behind climate change; impacts, adaptations and vulnerability; and mitigations.
According to the 5th report, there is 95% certainty that anthropogenic activity is the main cause of global warming since the mid-20th century with devastating impact on health and there is more than 50% possibility that the rise in temperature around the world will either reach or surpass 1.5° C (2.7° F) between 2021 and 2040.1 The latest report concluded that The rate of global warming since 1970 has been highest than in any other time frame in the last 2000 years. The concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane gas and nitrous oxide are at their highest in the last 800,000 to 2 million years.