Climate emissions must be reduced, even more and even faster, and it is very urgent. That’s the message in the most comprehensive summary of climate research to date, presented today by the UN’s climate panel IPCC. – If we act now, we can still secure a bearable, sustainable future for everyone, says IPCC Chairman Hoesung Lee, in a press release. For the sixth time, the IPCC describes how the Earth’s climate is affected by the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And emissions have increased steadily since the IPCC published its first report in 1990, 33 years ago. At that time, the global emissions were 22 billion tonnes. Last year they were almost twice as large, almost 37 billion tons. In the report, the UN panel of experts states that almost half of the world’s population lives in areas highly affected by climate change, and that fifteen times more people have died from floods, droughts and storms in these regions in the last ten years. Despite this, the UN expert panel maintains that it is still possible to limit the warming of the earth’s climate to 1.5 degrees higher average temperature than before industrialization. But then the emissions must be almost halved in just seven years, by 2030. Therefore, the IPCC emphasizes that the decisions made in the coming years about how climate emissions are to be managed are also decisive for future generations. This could be, for example, the choice of energy type and investment in fossil-free transport. Changes are also required in, among other things, agriculture, industries and the construction sector. The IPCC wants to highlight solutions that not only reduce global warming but also have other positive effects, for example that energy types that do not cause polluted air also lead to better health. Therefore, a doubling of funding for new technical solutions and initiatives is also needed. Governments should send clear signals to investors and banks that a rapid transition is necessary. In the player at the top of the article: Climate scientist Markku Rummokainen says that we are further from the climate goals today than we would have been if we had done more in recent years.
t4-general
The climate report: The world may be heading for three degrees of warming
