Climate change due to global warming has been receiving close attention from Pope Francis; and he has used the threat to promote Roman Catholic dogma. However, there is no doubt that global warming predicts disaster for this world, and it appears to be obvious that the end must come before the disaster is fully realized. The the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently issued a special report on the impact of global warming of 1.5C, and it should inspire preventive action on the part of the major world powers, of which the United States is the foremost. Exactly the opposite is happening in the governance of America, which is also consistent with a general lawlessness which signals that we are witnessing the very last movements of earthly history:-

Final call to save the world from 'climate catastrophe'

It's the final call, say scientists, the most extensive warning yet on the risks of rising global temperatures.

Their dramatic report on keeping that rise under 1.5 degrees C says the world is now completely off track, heading instead towards 3C.

Keeping to the preferred target of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels will mean "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society". . .

What could be wiped out by temperature rise . . .

The critical 33-page Summary for Policymakers certainly bears the hallmarks of difficult negotiations between climate researchers determined to stick to what their studies have shown and political representatives more concerned with economies and living standards

The two reports which follow should be regarded as having great significance in view of the fulfillment of Luke 21:24 in 1980 and the defining prediction of Jesus in the same chapter of Luke:

Luke 21:31-32 New King James Version (NKJV)

³¹ So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. ³² Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place (Underscored emphasis added.)*

Because there is disagreement about the time frame of a generation, it is well to note the significance of the period of 40 years in the Bible. The following articles mention periods of time that do not extend much beyond 40 years:-

The world has just over a decade to get climate change under control, U.N. scientists say

“There is no documented historic precedent" for the scale of changes required, the body found.

The world stands on the brink of failure when it comes to holding global warming to moderate levels, and nations will need to take “unprecedented” actions to cut their carbon emissions over the next decade, according to a landmark report by the top scientific body studying climate change.

With global emissions showing few signs of slowing and the United States — the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide — rolling back a suite of Obama-era climate measures, the prospects for meeting the most ambitious goals of the 2015 Paris agreement look increasingly slim. To avoid racing past warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial levels would require a “rapid and far-reaching” transformation of human civilization at a magnitude that has never happened before, the group found.

“There is no documented historic precedent” for the sweeping change to energy, transportation and other systems required to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) wrote in a report requested as part of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. . .

“Frankly, we’ve delivered a message to the governments,” said Jim Skea, a co-chair of the IPCC panel and professor at Imperial College London, at a press event following the document’s release. “It’s now their responsibility … to decide whether they can act on it.” He added, “What we’ve done is said what the world needs to do.”

The transformation described in the document is breathtaking, and the speed of change required raises inevitable questions about its feasibility.

Planet has only until 2030 to stem catastrophic climate change, experts warn

Governments around the world must take "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" to avoid disastrous levels of global warming, says a stark new report from the global scientific authority on climate change.

The report issued Monday by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says the planet will reach the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030, precipitating the risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people.

The date, which falls well within the lifetime of many people alive today, is based on current levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

The planet is already two-thirds of the way there, with global temperatures having warmed about 1 degree C. Avoiding going even higher will require significant action in the next few years.

"This is concerning because we know there are so many more problems if we exceed 1.5 degrees C global warming, including more heatwaves and hot summers, greater sea level rise, and, for many parts of the world, worse droughts and rainfall extremes," Andrew King, a lecturer in climate science at the University of Melbourne, said in a statement.

Global net emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach "net zero" around 2050 in order to keep the warming around 1.5 degrees C. Lowering emissions to this degree, while technically possible, would require widespread changes in energy, industry, buildings, transportation and cities, the report says.

"The window on keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C is closing rapidly and the current emissions pledges made by signatories to the Paris Agreement do not add up to us achieving that goal," added King.

Matthew 24 recounts how the disciples put the question to Jesus: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" In His response Jesus said (inter alia): "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" (verses 7-8.) Concerning Matthew 24 the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, 1956 Edition, states, "Beginning with v. 21 the signs foretold point forward exclusively to the end of the world (see DA 630, 631.)" In verse 21 Jesus predicted the Great Tribulation, and in verse 22 He stated "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened." This clearly referred to a time of overwhelming deceptions and a dreadful persecution of God's people (cf. Dan. 12:1.) However, not only do verses 7-8 of Matthew 24 apply before the close of probation and the Great Tribulation, but immediately after Jesus' great prophecy of the end of time in Luke 21:24 He described these conditions immediately following: ( . . . and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken (vs. 25(b)-26.) It is clear that Our Lord's predictions of terrible physical conditions on the earth prior to His Coming embrace the forecasts of disastrous upheavals in the earth's atmosphere and surface as the result of global warming.

How God regards the physical degradation of the earth is summed up in Rev. 11:18 - a prophecy of the end:

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (Italics emphasis added.)