The Defeatist camp's central claim is that regardless of any mitigation efforts we take now, our actions have "locked in" a specific future state, often times described as disastrous, apocalyptic, or even resulting in "inevitable near-term human extinction". However, defeatist positions normally do acknowledge that mitigation and adaptation efforts are still worthwhile, as they may reduce the pace, degree, or scale of suffering.
Why is Near Term Human Extinction Inevitable?
The alarmist camp interprets the situation as worse than whatever the scientific mainstream determines. While the scientific mainstream may communicate information that is interpreted as alarming, the alarmist camp often makes critical claims about mainstream science — that it is too conservative (for a variety of reasons), too specialized into specific disciplines to offer a wholistic assessment, or that it is too slow in incorporating real-time & recent data into its assessments. Alarmist positions will sometimes cite studies that the Scientific Mainstream does not incorporate into its collective assessment of the available and relevant data, but alarmist positions also do often cite studies that are included in the collective assessment of the Scientific Mainstream.
UN Says Climate Genocide Is Coming. It's Actually Worse Than That.
The Scientific Mainstream is defined by the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was formed in 1988. From the IPCC's Website: "The objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies... An open and transparent review by experts and governments around the world is an essential part of the IPCC process, to ensure an objective and complete assessment and to reflect a diverse range of views and expertise. Through its assessments, the IPCC identifies the strength of scientific agreement in different areas and indicates where further research is needed. The IPCC does not conduct its own research."
In 2018, the IPCC published a "Special Report" on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees C. This report was prompted by government requests to better understand the different impacts of warming at 1.5 and 2 degrees, and the possibilities and likelihood of keeping warming to 1.5 and 2 degrees respectively. This report lurched the Scientific Mainstream closer to the Alarmist positions.
Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C approved by governments
8 Things You Need to Know About the IPCC 1.5˚C Report
What Does '12 Years to Act on Climate Change' (Now 11 Years) Really Mean?
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The relaxed camp believes climate change and ecological destruction are important problems worth addressing, but either posit that they are not as bad as the Scientific Mainstream indicates, or believes that human ingenuity, well-designed policies, and collective action is already or will be able to effectively mitigate any serious crisis. They hold that the scientific mainstream are the ones who are alarmist. Like the alarmist camp, they often pull from studies and findings that are both included and excluded from the IPCC's assessment.