Abstract

The impact of Anthropogenic climate change is pervasive across all major ecological and human systems. Without urgent action to mitigate the emissions that drive warming, society will overshoot the 1.5°C global temperature mark and ultimately cause much of the global cryosphere, such as mountain glaciers, to melt. The resulting sea level rise would impose significant socio-ecological burdens, from flooding to habitat loss. In A Climate Mural of Our Times, artist Gennadiy Ivanov, working together with climate scientists from the Universities of East Anglia and Saskatchewan, illustrates the interactions between climate, sea level, and society in the context of the Norfolk coastline and city of Norwich. Warming stripes in the sky illustrate two possible climate futures, one leading to a sustainable green future and the other where we continue to strongly emit CO2 resulting in damaging climate change. This artwork inspires viewers to think deeply and seriously about which future we should choose and calls for cross-community collaborations—among policymakers, scientists, and every one of us—to work together to navigate toward a habitable future.