{"id":119996,"date":"2018-10-15T12:00:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=119996"},"modified":"2018-10-22T11:09:48","modified_gmt":"2018-10-22T10:09:48","slug":"global-warming-report-an-ear-splitting-wake-up-call-warns-un-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/10\/global-warming-report-an-ear-splitting-wake-up-call-warns-un-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Warming Report, an ‘Ear-Splitting Wake-Up Call’ Warns UN Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A special report<\/a>\u00a0on limiting global warming\u00a0released on Monday [8 Oct] by a UN scientific panel, should be heard around the world as an “ear-splitting\u00a0wake-up call” said\u00a0UN chief Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a>.\u00a0He said the long-awaited findings\u00a0show that “climate change is running faster than we are – and we are running out of time.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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8 Oct 2018 –<\/em> The IPCC, or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC<\/a>), issued the report from Incheon, Republic of Korea, where for the past week, hundreds of scientists and government representatives have been poring over thousands of inputs to paint a picture of what could happen to the planet and\u00a0its population with global warming of 1.5\u00b0C (or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).<\/p>\n

Limiting global warming will require \u201cfar-reaching and unprecedented changes\u201d to human behaviour, according to the panel. “We are already seeing the consequences of 1\u00b0C of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other changes,\u201d said<\/a> Panmao Zhai, Co-Chair of one of the IPCC Working Groups.<\/p>\n

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The Earth, an image created from photographs taken by the Suomi NPP satellite. NASA<\/p><\/div>\n

The landmark Paris Agreement<\/a> adopted in December 2015 by 195 nations at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change<\/a> (UNFCCC<\/a>), included the aim of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate\u00a0 change by \u201cholding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tweeting shortly after the report was launched, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres<\/a> said that it is not impossible to limit global warming to 1.5\u00b0C<\/a>, according to the report. “But it will require unprecedented and collective climate action in all areas. There is no time to waste.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThis report by the world\u2019s leading climate scientists is an ear-splitting wake-up call to the world. It confirms that climate change is running faster than we are \u2013 and we are running out of time.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
\n– – UN chief Guterres <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a statement released later in the day, Mr. Guterres said that getting there, would require “urgent and far more ambitious action to cut emissions by half by 2030, and reach net zero emissions by 2050.”<\/p>\n

“This will take unprecedented changes in all aspects of society \u2013 especially in key sectors such as land, energy, industry, buildings, transport and cities,” he said, adding that “we need to end deforestation and plant billions of trees; drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels and phase out coal by 2050; ramp up installation of wind and solar power; invest in climate-friendly sustainable agriculture; and consider new technologies such as carbon capture and storage.<\/p>\n

“The coming period is critical. We must meet the Paris commitments to bend the emissions curve by 2020<\/p>\n

Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO<\/a>), said on Monday in Geneva\u00a0that there was “extreme urgency” needed on the part of Paris Agreement signatories, and “so far the progress hasn’t been good enough” to keep temperature rises below even 2\u00b0.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be 420 million people less suffering because of climate change if we would be able to limit the warming to 1.5\u00b0C level and we have certain areas in the world which are extremely sensitive,\u201d Mr. Taalas said. \u201cSmall island states, (the) Mediterranean region and also sub-Saharan Africa is already suffering and will suffer more in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is still possible to limit global warming to 1.5\u00b0C, the WMO official continued, \u201cbut we should change many things how we run our everyday business today\u201d.<\/p>\n

Also in Geneva, a UN rights expert warned that failing to do more to address climate change risked \u201clocking in decades\u201d of grave violations.<\/p>\n

\u201cClimate change is having –\u00a0and will have –\u00a0devastating effects on a wide range of human rights, including rights to life, health, food, housing, and water, as well as the right to a healthy environment,\u201d said David Boyd, Special Rapporteur<\/a> on human rights and the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is already witnessing the impacts of climate change \u2014 from hurricanes in America, heat waves in Europe, droughts in Africa to floods in Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Half a degree is a big deal<\/strong><\/p>\n

The report highlights a number of climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5\u00b0C compared to 2\u00b0C, or more.<\/p>\n

For instance, by 2100, global sea level rise would be 10cm lower with global warming of 1.5\u00b0C compared with 2\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

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#IPCC<\/a> working group co-chair @valmasdel<\/a>: Net zero emissions of CO2 must reach zero by 2050. That is the most important finding of the report. We are at a crossroads. What happens between now and 2030 is critical. #SR15<\/a> #climatechange<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/y8GGBJRRqG<\/a><\/p>\n

— IPCC (@IPCC_CH) October 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n