Our elders should have to explain what to expect in our lifetime, why it is happening and what to do next.

The latest IPCC report 'Global Warming of 1.5C' "is a terrifyingly detailed and specific depiction of the foreseeable impacts of climate change if we overshoot the 1.5C target agreed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement". However, it is not exactly digestible for the average human, and it should be, because it explains how the actions of the past are determining out future. Scott Williams from Climate-KIC argues we need a special report that "is less spreadsheet and jargon, more family and hugs", especially given the dire direction the IPCC report indicates we are heading. 

The carefully chosen and debated scientific and political language of climate change has insulated us all from the reality that we are facing. I have struggled to try and explain my concern for the future to many friends, colleagues and family before only to see it deflected, dismissed and effectively denied - not because they don't think climate change is real but mostly because they have faith in the systems that govern our world. They believe our ability to develop technology will save us, or the politicians will do the right thing, or our scientists are protecting us. Unfortunately, these systems and the economic machine that fuels them are part of what got us into this mess in the first place. 

The latest IPCC report indicates that warming is occurring faster than what even the most aggressive previous predictions were and the discussions about what this means are starting to get uncomfortable. They are the kind of discussions that need mental preparation, a cup of tea, your kitchen table, your family and the kind of honesty, love, care and solemnity you should use when trying to explain to your family why the planet is dying. 

Because honestly, this explanation shouldn't be left to me - I don't have kids, I'm 35 years old and I was only 4 years old when James Hansen, the head of NASA, first reported climate change to the US Senate and warned of global warming. The explanation should come from our elders, the ones we are supposed to respect. They should be the ones to explain to their kids and their grandkids what to expect in our lifetime, why it is happening and what to do next. Then we can all come together as humans and families to prepare for the future that is expected while doing our best to prevent the worst.