Key actions include phasing out coal and zero-emission electricity generation by 2035 in all developed countries and by 2040 in the rest of the world. Photo: UN News.
After week-long meetings in Interlaken, Switzerland, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday released the Climate Change 2023 study, reiterating warnings about the magnitude of global warming and emphasizing deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the remaining time until 2030.
Temperatures have already risen 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as a result of more than a century of burning fossil fuels, an uneven and unsustainable use of energy and land.
“This has led to more frequent and intense extreme weather events, which are having increasingly dangerous impacts on nature and people in all regions of the world,” the IPCC noted.
According to the expert group, climate-related food and water insecurity is expected to increase with warming. When risks are combined with other adverse events such as pandemics or conflict, they become even more difficult to manage.
The UN expert panel on climate change reiterated that if the temperature is to be maintained at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, one of the goals of the Paris Agreement is a deep, rapid and sustainable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors in this decade.
“For this goal to be achieved at all, emissions must be almost halved now and by 2030,” they emphasize in the report.
The IPCC report summarizes the six reports that the group of scientists and experts have formulated since 2014. According to the report:
- About 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are “highly vulnerable to climate change”.
- Governments around the world have failed in the fight against climate change, and faster collective action is urgently needed.
- There is a lack of commitment on the part of the private sector and citizens. In addition, insufficient budgets for research and little political interest on the part of governments.
- Climate change has led to a significant increase in the intensity of natural disasters, causing irreversible damage to ecosystems and severe impacts on the lives of vulnerable populations.
- 2035 is the new deadline by which humanity must drastically reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
- There is an urgent need to bring down the cost of renewable energy (including solar and wind) to facilitate reducing the use of fossil fuels, which are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions.
The solution proposed by the IPCC is “climate resilient development”, which involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change and measures to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions to achieve broader benefits.
Steps towards this goal include better access to clean energy, low-carbon electrification, promotion of zero- and low-emission transport and improvement of air quality, all of which generate health benefits and economic costs through their positive impact on health would weigh and even outweigh the cost of emission reduction measures.
“The greatest welfare gains could be achieved by prioritizing climate risk reduction for low-income and marginalized communities, including those living in informal settlements,” said Christopher Trisos, one of the report’s authors.
“Accelerated climate protection will only be possible if the funds are multiplied. Insufficient and mismatched funding is holding back progress,” he added.
The IPCC experts insisted on governments’ power to progressively remove barriers to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, using public funds and clear signals to investors, and expanding policies with proven effectiveness.
They highlighted changes in the food sector, electricity, transport, industry, buildings and land use as important ways to reduce emissions, in addition to adopting low-carbon lifestyles that would improve health and well-being.
“Transformation is more likely to succeed when there is trust, when everyone works together to prioritize risk reduction, and when benefits and burdens are shared fairly,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee.
“This synthesis report underscores the urgency of more ambitious action and shows that by acting now we can still ensure a sustainable, livable future for all,” he added.
In a video message released Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the report as “a guide to defusing the climate time bomb.”
Climate action is needed on all fronts: “Everything, everywhere, all at once,” he said, referring to this year’s Oscar winner for best picture.
The UN chief has proposed a climate solidarity pact to the G20 group of advanced economies, in which all major emitters make extra efforts to reduce them.
As part of the pact, the richest countries would mobilize financial and technical resources to support emerging economies in their collective efforts to ensure global temperatures do not rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Guterres announced that he would present a plan to step up efforts to achieve this pact through an acceleration agenda that would imply that developed countries commit to 2040 as close as possible and developing countries as close as possible to it Aim for zero net emissions by 2050.
The acceleration agenda calls for an end to the use of coal, zero-emission electricity generation by 2035 in all developed countries and by 2040 in the rest of the world, and the end of licensing and financing for new oil and gas fields. and any addition to existing oil and gas reserves.
The UN Secretary-General stated that these actions must go hand in hand with protecting the most vulnerable communities, increased financing and capacity for adaptation and loss and damage from climate change.
Likewise, by promoting reforms to ensure that multilateral development banks provide more grants and loans and fully mobilize private finance.
The next World Climate Conference will take place in Dubai from November 30th to December 12th.
Guterres said he hopes that by then the G20 will have committed to new and ambitious nationally determined contributions for all economies, covering all greenhouse gases and having clear absolute emission reduction targets for 2035 and 2040.
(With information from UN News)