IPCC report gives ‘final warning’, says 'can still avoid worst of climate collapse'
2 min read 21 Mar 2023, 08:17 PM ISTThe rising amount of Greenhouse Gas emission has pushed the world to the brink of irrevocable damage that only swift and drastic action can avert, the scientists have said.
PremiumThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its report for 2023, and in the report scientists has given their ‘final warning’ that if governments and citizen do not act now, the consequences will be worse than imagined.
The rising amount of Greenhouse Gas emission has pushed the world to the brink of irrevocable damage that only swift and drastic action can avert, the scientists have said.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said, “This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every timeframe. Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once."
The report warns that extreme weather caused by climate breakdown has led to increased deaths from intensifying heatwaves in all regions, millions of lives and homes destroyed in droughts and floods, millions of people facing hunger, and “increasingly irreversible losses" in vital ecosystems.
More than 3bn people already live in areas that are “highly vulnerable" to climate breakdown, the IPCC found, and half of the global population now experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year.
All of those impacts are set to increase rapidly, as we have failed to reverse the 200-year trend of rising greenhouse gas emissions, despite more than 30 years of warnings from the IPCC, which published its first report in 1990.
The world heats up in response to the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so every year in which emissions continue to rise eats up the available “carbon budget" and means much more drastic cuts will be needed in future years.
Yet there is still hope of staying within 1.5C, according to the report. Hoesung Lee, the chair of the IPCC, said: “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."
Temperatures are now about 1.1C above pre-industrial levels, the IPCC found. If greenhouse gas emissions can be made to peak as soon as possible, and are reduced rapidly in the following years, it may still be possible to avoid the worst ravages that would follow a 1.5C rise.
Guterres called on governments to take drastic action to reduce emissions by investing in renewable energy and low-carbon technology. He said rich countries must try to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions “as close as possible to 2040", rather than waiting for the 2050 deadline most have signed up to.
He said: “The climate timebomb is ticking. But today’s report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate timebomb. It is a survival guide for humanity. As it shows, the 1.5C limit is achievable."
John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, said: “Today’s message from the IPCC is abundantly clear: we are making progress, but not enough. We have the tools to stave off and reduce the risks of the worst impacts of the climate crisis, but we must take advantage of this moment to act now."
