- Gabon votes on new constitution hailed by junta as 'turning point'
- Young Libyans gear up for their first ever election
- Vice tightens around remaining civilians in eastern Ukraine
- Dutch coalition survives political turmoil after minister's resignation
- Uruguay end winless run with dramatic late win over Colombia
- Max potential: 10 years since a teenage Verstappen wowed in Macau
- Tens of thousands flee as Typhoon Man-yi nears Philippines
- Is Argentina's Milei on brink of leaving Paris climate accord?
- Big Bang: Trump and Musk could redefine US space strategy
- Revolution over but more protests than ever in Bangladesh
- Minister resigns but Dutch coalition remains in place
- Ireland won 'ugly', says relieved Farrell
- Stirring 'haka' dance disrupts New Zealand's parliament
- England's Hull grabs lead over No.1 Korda at LPGA Annika
- Kosovo players walk off in Romania after 'Serbia' chants, game abandoned
- Kosovo players walk off in Romania game after 'Serbia' chants
- Lame-duck Biden tries to reassure allies as Trump looms
- Nervy Irish edge Argentina in Test nailbiter
- Ronaldo at double as Portugal reach Nations League quarters, Spain win
- Fitch upgrades Argentina debt rating amid economic pain
- Trump picks Doug Burgum as energy czar in new administration
- Phone documentary details struggles of Afghan women under Taliban
- Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight
- Spain beat Denmark to seal Nations League group win
- Former AFCON champions Ghana bow out as minnows Comoros qualify
- Poland, Britain reach BJK Cup quarter-finals
- At summit under Trump shadow, Xi and Biden signal turbulence ahead
- Lebanon said studying US truce plan for Israel-Hezbollah war
- Xi warns against 'protectionism' at APEC summit under Trump cloud
- Nigerian UN nurse escapes jihadist kidnappers after six years
- India in record six-hitting spree to rout South Africa
- George tells England to prepare for rugby 'war' against Springboks
- Pogba's Juve contract terminated despite doping ban reduction
- Ukraine slams Scholz after first call with Putin in two years
- Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track series to have LA final
- Kagiyama, Yoshida put Japan on top at Finland Grand Prix
- Alcaraz eyeing triumphant Davis Cup farewell for Nadal after ATP Finals exit
- Xi, Biden at Asia-Pacific summit under Trump trade war cloud
- India go on record six-hitting spree against South Africa
- France skipper Dupont says All Blacks 'back to their best'
- Trump pressures US Senate with divisive cabinet picks
- Bagnaia strikes late in Barcelona practice to edge title rival Martin
- High-ball hero Steward ready to 'front up' against South Africa
- Leader of Spain flood region admits 'mistakes'
- Swiatek, Linette take Poland past Spain into BJK Cup quarter-finals
- Leftist voices seek to be heard at Rio's G20 summit
- Wales coach Jenkins urges players to 'get back on the horse'
- Zverev reaches ATP Finals last four, Alcaraz out
- Boeing strike will hurt Ethiopian Airlines growth: CEO
- Springboks skipper Kolisi wary of England's 'gifted' Smith
Leading ozone scientist says more climate surprises likely
Susan Solomon, a leading scientist in the fight to tackle the Antarctic ozone hole, says people are now getting worried enough to spur climate action.
The former expert for the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the organisation's final instalment of a major series of reports, released Monday, would not be the "last word" on warming.
IPCC warned that climate change impacts are hitting faster than expected and the key 1.5 degree-Celsius warming limit could be reached in the early 2030s.
Solomon, a professor at MIT, said in an interview that more surprises were likely in store.
Her own research had delivered a recent "shocker" that Australia's massive 2019-20 wildfires combined with lingering remnants of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) still in the atmosphere to erode the ozone layer -- Earth's protective shield from damaging ultraviolet radiation.
The following interview has been edited for length and flow:
Q: Did it feel like a crisis when the ozone hole was discovered?
A: It was a huge moment. The only thing you could compare it to would be if a piece of Greenland suddenly fell off into the sea and people were waiting for the three metres of sea level rise to show up on their doorstep.
All of a sudden you had 50 percent less ozone over Antarctica at certain times of year. And we did not know why.
I was 29 years old when the British Antarctic Survey discovered the ozone hole in 1985.
In 1986, I led the national ozone expedition to Antarctica. We made measurements of everything that we could think of: ozone itself, but also chlorine monoxide, chlorine dioxide, all of the ozone eating molecules and we were able to show that they were completely out of whack.
My idea was that maybe the reason this was happening was because of polar stratospheric clouds and surface chemistry. That turned out to be right.
Q: The Montreal Protocol (phasing out CFCs and other ozone depleting molecules) was signed in 1987. What enabled governments to act so quickly?
A: Three P's -- It was personal to people, because skin cancer and cataracts are scary. And it was perceptible because you could see these dramatic images on TV. It could easily be explained. And practical solutions were found pretty quickly.
Had we not stopped making these molecules, you would have massive ozone depletion worldwide. Overall, it has been a remarkable science, policy, and public success story.
Q: Why has climate change not had the same urgency?
A: People are beginning to get concerned enough about climate change, particularly the young. That is a tremendous spur to politicians.
The biggest problem is that people believe the solutions are not practical, but it's not at all true. People have to recognise how much more it's going to cost us if we don't do anything.
It's also too easy to tie climate change up with the culture wars, or whatever your social issue of the moment is.
We didn't have that with the ozone.
I was once in an IPCC meeting about chlorofluorocarbons with a delegate from a Middle Eastern country that produces a lot of oil. I asked him if his government had any concerns and he said: "No, we don't really care what's in the air conditioner, as long as it makes it cold".
The chemical companies could make other compounds. The problem with the fossil fuel companies is they're not going to be the ones to make solar panels.
Q: What are the key unanswered questions on climate change?
A: There's a lot of work going on now on understanding how storm tracks are going to change. Are we going to have more extreme Arctic air cold snaps? It might not be the issue you expected, but it's an issue.
Melting of the polar ice sheets -- how fast is that going to happen? There's a lot of uncertainty. It affects people on coastlines and island states all around the world.
The impact on the food and water supply -- there are open questions on both.
Things that involve the crossover between biology and physics are often the most difficult to understand. There's a 30 percent decline in the insect population worldwide going on right now. We really don't know why.
It's a great time to be a climate scientist, but on the other hand, it seems to me that every year something important and scary is happening.
T.Perez--AT