PHOENIX — As the U.S. continues to deal with the effects of Hurricane Ida and western wildfires, a University of Arizona professor addressed members of Congress today about how climate change is playing a role.
In a briefing to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, Dr. Jessica Tierney broke down the first part of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, testifying about how extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe.
The report also states that human activities are undisputedly causing climate change, including the intensity of hurricanes, heatwaves, floods, and droughts.
Dr. Tierney says that the current mega-drought in Arizona and the Southwest is the second-worst in the last 1,000 years.
It's not all doom and gloom, however. Dr. Tierney states that there is hope for the future if global emissions are reduced soon.
"If we’re able to cut emissions and even start to, towards the end of the century to bring CO2 levels down a little bit, will actually immediately rede the chance of severe extreme events,” she says.
The next part of the IPCC report, which highlights climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability, is scheduled to be released early next year.
