You’ve heard of climate change. . . but has its meaning really struck home? We are in a climate emergency. How do we know? Take any statement you’ve recently heard:

• The hottest decade in a century
• The highest temperature ever in the Arctic
• The most hurricanes
• The greatest ice sheet loss
• The most rapid sea level rise
• The worst wild fire season
• The highest level of atmospheric CO2 in 25 million years

And redirect it towards the future:

• Hot as it is, we are now experiencing the coolest decade of the next century
• We will see higher temperatures in the Arctic
• There will be more frequent and more extreme hurricanes
• Ice sheet loss will accelerate
• Sea level rise will increase rapidly and irreversibly over the next 300 years
• This is the mildest wild fire season compared to what’s coming
• This is the lowest level of CO2 in the foreseeable future

As climate journalist Mary Heglar says, “The climate crisis is not the Great Equalizer. It’s the Great Multiplier.” Everyone is affected, but it multiplies problems and threats unequally, compounding social inequities. In this time of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter, everyone is called on to increase their knowledge of the climate emergency and how to respond. Our actions determine our future, whether in West Philadelphia or the Global South.

No matter where you are in the Penn community, one or more of the 40 Climate Week events will speak to you. Here are just a few examples:

• Counseling and Psychological Services is hosting a roundtable on Mental Health and the Climate Emergency
• Career Services organized a panel on Getting Started in an Environmental or Climate Related Career
• The Kleinman Center offers a webinar on Clean Energy Equity: Overcoming Racial Disparities
• CIRCE informs faculty and staff about Reducing Your Carbon Footprint at Home
• The Netter Center is holding a Teach-In on Partnerships for Environmental Health and Justice in West Philadelphia
• If you enjoyed the 1.5 Minute Climate Lectures, stay tuned for another set by Penn faculty and from students

Climate Week at Penn is online and accessible to everyone September 21-25. Choose your events now: www.upenn.edu/climateweek.

—Simon Richter, Class of 1942 Endowed Term Professor
Chair of the Climate Week at Penn Planning Team