UN scientists have called for an end to the age of fossil fuels, as a new report warns immediate action is needed to curb dangerous climate change.
A new U.N. report says that achieving countries’ agreed target of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius or below to avoid the worst impacts of climate change will require rapid, deep and immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in all areas.
It also called for a “dramatic reduction” in the use of fossil fuels to curb emissions.
drought
Scientists at the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have warned that while there are signs of action, the world is facing global warming of more than 3 degrees Celsius.
Jim Skea, co-chair of the team behind the report, said the world was “absolutely not on track” to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, with scientists warning of floods, droughts, and reduced crop yields above that level. , rising sea levels and increasing wildlife deaths are expected to have -offs.
He warned that the report “concludes that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will be out of reach unless all sectors reduce emissions immediately and deeply”.
“We know what to do, we know how to do it, and now it’s up to us to act,” he said.
Jan Christoph Minx of the University of Leeds, one of the report’s authors, said: “We do need to change course, we need to end the age of fossil fuels and enter the age of climate policy. Did not happen.”
conflict
As the UN science agency releases the third part of its sixth assessment report detailing solutions to climate change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has described it as a “dossier of disgrace on the empty promises countries have made so far. “, and accused governments of lying about what they were doing.
“Climate commitments and plans must now be turned into reality and action.
“It’s time to stop burning our planet and start investing in the abundance of renewable energy around us,” he urged.
Drawing on 18,000 studies and sources, the report incorporates scientific findings on climate change into a heated debate over energy availability and costs, sparked by rising oil and gas prices during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In Britain, the government on Thursday will set out a new energy strategy that is expected to support offshore wind and new nuclear reactors, but not cheap onshore wind, as the two sides decide whether to accelerate a shift away from oil and gas or boost domestic production There is a conflict. Fossil fuel supply.
Pollution
The latest study follows the first two issues of the sixth overall assessment report, the first of its kind since 2014.
The first presents a “code red” warning about what humans are doing to the planet, and the second details the effects of climate change and our options and constraints to adapt to rising temperatures.
