In a traditionally slow news month such as August, any event of relative significance gets abundant coverage. Yet the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was not just an event of relative significance. It was, based on media coverage, an event of huge significance. This significance lay in a stark warning: quit fossil fuels or ruin the planet. The report basically said that if we don’t act immediately, we would never be able to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. It also noted that some of the changes human activity has inflicted on the planet are already irreversible. In comments on the report, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said , “This report must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet,” adding “Countries should also end all new fossil fuel exploration and production, and shift fossil fuel […]