UN: Without halving emissions by 2030 world faces warming of around 3°C | DW News

The Earth has already warmed by at least 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times in the mid 19th century. In 2015, world leaders agreed after intense negotiations to limit global warming to a common target of 1.5 degrees. So far, no major country is on schedule to meet this goal.

Future scenarios clearly show that climate change can only be halted with a radical transformation of the world's energy system. In addition, the report stressed that measures to adapt to the effects of climate change must already be implemented today. This will save lives and money, when compared with the costs of unchecked climate change on the global economy and society.

However, the window of opportunity to achieve these goals is closing fast, the scientists said. By 2030, the global community needs to nearly halve its emissions from burning coal, oil and gas, or face warming of around 3 degrees Celsius.

Guterres called on world leaders and fossil fuel companies to "massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every time frame." Speaking on Monday, he presented a plan to accelerate net-zero climate deadlines, invest in realistic innovations and deliver climate justice to those experiencing the worst effects of climate change.

Rising temperatures, natural disasters and irreversible ecosystem degradation are becoming increasingly life-threatening for humans and nature all over the world, top scientists warned in a major new report released Monday by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Efforts made so far to avoid passing a dangerous global threshold have been "insufficient to tackle climate change," but multiple options are still available. "Mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce losses and damages for nature and people, it will also provide wider benefits," said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. "This Synthesis Report underscores the urgency of taking more ambitious action and shows that, if we act now, we can still secure a livable sustainable future for all."

"Today's IPCC report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate time-bomb," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "It is a survival guide for humanity. As it shows, the 1.5-degree limit is achievable. But it will take a quantum leap in climate action."

Climate protection measures fall short
The fundamental message of all the IPCC's reports is unequivocal. "Without urgent, effective, and equitable mitigation and adaptation actions, climate change increasingly threatens ecosystems, biodiversity, and the livelihoods, health and well-being of current and future generations," said the report, compiled by 93 authors. Humanity has drastically altered the planet in just a few centuries, with responsibility for climate change linked to the burning of coal, oil and gas. At no time in the past 2 million years have CO2 concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere been as high as they are today.

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[AdrianDrott]

Governments be like: Double it and give it to the next generation.

[Grabarz]

And people are wondering why Gen Z is so detached/inactive... I belive they might feel unsure of their future (or hopeless/terrified)

[spikehawley]

I think it is already to late. All we can do now is try to minimize the damage.

[sujitd]

The comment section here is proof that Exxon won.

[presleymeck]

Wasn't Germany starting the coal power plants a few months ago?

[kimguy]

Rich people with huge carbon footprints are demanding that poor people with small carbon footprints cut down on their carbon footprints.

[mileshigh]

The problem is the people dealing with the climate change are old and will be gone by the time it all goes to hell. There is no real rush by them to take care of this! What is needed is the people who will be the most effected, as in young people, have to take action now!

[justynamaria]

As an ecologist myself, hearing other ecologists speak so vaguely is so frustrating. What dangers do we have? How can we, as individual, help? What’s missing is the simplicity in the message..

[Weegie_in_Spain]

The world's geniuses want to colonise Mars, after destroying a perfectly decent planet called Earth. As if colonialism ever worked on Earth without somehow destroying far more than it achieved.

[bbppchan]

I studied environmental science for my bachelor's but I have zero belief of this we have hope to keep temp at 1.5C above pre industrial level. I feel more gloomy and hopeless the more I studied.

[FitzroySymisterArt]

In Jamaica the government is encouraging people to use chemicals which are banned in Europe and some more parts of the world. Jamaica is known as the land of wood and water, and most of the water, which comes from the mountain is undrinkable due to the farmers practices of using chemicals and all so coffee farmers. No body is talking about this. We have been buying water from the shops, selling water in Jamaica is a big business 😮.

[katynewt]

Obviously, humanity isn't suffering enough, otherwise we would be rushing our way towards less polluting lifestyles.
One thing a lot of people can do straight away is reducing consumption. I say "a lot of people" and not "everyone" because some are already having a minimalistic life...

[nickchkheidze]

we're not going to terraform Mars into Earth 2, we're going to terraform Earth to Mars 2

[allopriem]

Not many people still dare to speak out loud a simple fact: with the technologies we have today, the only way to cut the emissions is to fully switch to nuclear power. There is simply no other way to generate the amount of energy that we need without fossils.

[timberwolfe]

No one will willingly pay a bill that increases their cost premium because of pollution. They'll demand the big companies to take that on themselves, which they should, but they'll just hide the fees like they do now and keep doing it

[sharongillesp]

We are building a better future - but it’s likely too little too late.

[martinbridge]

Purely an issue with corporation. We literally had 2 years of the biggest social experiment in history, where global travel on a huge scale was shut down. VERY little reduction in emissions. Governments needs to hold business and corporations to account, to reduce the amount of emissions from product transit.

[Shini]

We were poised for 4 degrees, and now it's just 3 degrees! We're moving in the right direction! Fossil fuel industry needs JUST 200 more years to switch to something more renewable! Please wait!
/sarcasm

[grafito]

By the time any environmental report is written on paper, it's already an underestimate.
We really need to double our commitment to climate change in order to compensate for the lack of our future inaction.

[ventura]

The graph showing the earth temp dropped off and the atmosphere temperature increases suggest if it wasn't for human pollution in the atmosphere the earth may dive into another ice age?