Ben Shapiro mocked for saying 4C of global warming not an ‘emergency’: ‘You better get good at swimming’

Right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro has been mocked online after saying the potential rise of global temperatures by 4C due to global warming is not an “emergency”.

In a recent clip from The Ben Shapiro Show shared on Twitter, the commentator discussed the decision of Scientific American to begin using the phrase “climate emergency” over “climate change.”

On Monday the publication said: “Scientific American has agreed with major news outlets worldwide to start using the term ‘climate emergency’ in its coverage of climate change.”

In reaction to the announcement on Twitter on Tuesday, Mr Shapiro replied: “This sounds very, very sciency and not at all political.”

In a clip from his political podcast, Mr Shapiro reiterated his disagreement with the decision saying: “Suddenly a bunch of these quote-unquote scientific magazines suddenly have very strong political bets.”

“Now I was not aware that there is a scientific designation that amounts to an emergency,” the commentator says in the clip.

“This is a completely political designation,” he insists. “And by the way, I do not consider it a quote-unquote emergency if the climate were to warm four degrees celsius over the course of the next century.

“I consider that a gradual change that human beings are going to have to adapt to with increased technological know-how as well as innovation.”

Scientists have widely predicted that a future where global heating by 4C in comparison to the industrial age would cause catastrophic damage to the modern world.

Last year, Professor Kevin Anderson, a leading climate scientist at the University of Manchester said that “there is a widespread view that a 4C future is incompatible with an organised global community”.

He added that the increase in temperature would likely create an atmosphere that was “beyond adaptation and be devastating to the majority of ecosystems.”

Users on social media were quick to mock Mr Shapiro on Twitter for his comments regarding the climate crisis. “Shapiro with some more profound insight into climate change,” one user said.

“4 degrees Celsius??? You better get good at swimming Ben,” another added with a user responding underneath: “And less reliant on things like food and water and security and happiness.”

Another joked: “I do not consider it an emergency if the global climate, which currently supports human life, is suddenly and drastically altered.”

The United Nations has said that “If the world warms by more than 1.5 degrees, we will see more frequent, and intense, climate impacts such as the heatwaves and storms witnessed in recent years.”

NASA says that scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

"Taken as a whole," the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states, "the range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time."

“This man has more money than most professors/scientists for the same reason Alex Jones has more money than most doctors,” one user said in criticism of Mr Shapiro’s clip.

“People want to hear that everything is fine, particularly if you just buy this one simple life hack from my list of ten best life hacks to own the libs.”

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