GLOBAL TEMPERATURES ARE on course to rise above\u00a01.5\u00b0C within the next few years, but it\u2019s not too late to bring them down and meet the goals set in the Paris climate change agreement, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report.<\/p>\n
The most optimistic scenario, the report said, will see temperature rise peak at 1.8\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels, but most other scenarios predict higher peaks.<\/p>\n
The world has already warmed roughly 1.4\u00b0C since 1850-1900, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels and the last three years have been the hottest on record.<\/p>\n
An overshoot is inevitable, according to the report. However,\u00a0an \u201covershoot, peak, and decline\u201d pathway is \u201cthe best remaining option\u201d to minimise the magnitude and duration of this overshoot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis summer\u2019s scorching heat, raging wildfires and deadly floods are a warning of what lies ahead,\u201d said UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must make the overshoot above 1.5 degrees as small and short as possible. That demands an overshoot of ambition.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cuts to greenhouse gases, including methane, and the planting of more forests would be key elements of such an approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Following the pathway would involve adaptations that reduce the vulnerability to the current, expected and unexpected impacts of climate change, the report said, although \u201cthere will likely be limits to adaptation and irreversible impacts, especially if peak temperatures are not minimised\u201d.<\/p>\n
Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP, said there are \u201cno good outcomes if we remain above 1.5\u00b0C\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow is the time we must double down on climate action. We can \u2013 and must \u2013 get on the right path.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andersen said there \u201care no good outcomes if we remain above 1.5\u00b0C\u201d.<\/p>\n
The report said the impacts of temperatures rising above 1.5\u00b0C include intensified extreme weather, ecosystem loss and the submersion of small island states as well as low-lying coastal cities.<\/p>\n
\u201cSevere damage to human health, food security, water supplies, nature, cities, infrastructure and economies is expected,\u201d it said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYears of inaction mean that even if a return to below 1.5\u00b0C is secured, irreversible losses and permanently changed conditions are certain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Responding to the UN report,\u00a0David Waskow, director of World Resources Institute\u2019s (WRI) International Climate Initiative, said that crossing the threshold set in the Paris Agreement \u201cis no longer a distant possibility\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a developing Super El Ni\u00f1o, the worst may still be ahead. Every fraction of a degree raises the toll.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jasper Inventor of Greenpeace International said: \u201cThis is a heartbreaking moment, but overshoot is not the reason to give up and surrender 1.5\u00b0C.\u201d<\/p>\n
With reporting from AFP\n<\/p>\n
Unsure of what exactly is happening with the earth\u2019s climate? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLOBAL TEMPERATURES ARE on course to rise above\u00a01.5\u00b0C within the next few years, but it\u2019s not too late…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[269],"tags":[442,20269,18,440,4799,19,17,83206,133,23039,47827,282271],"class_list":["post-668583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-climate-change","tag-climate-crisis","tag-eire","tag-environment","tag-global-warming","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-paris-agreement","tag-science","tag-un","tag-un-report","tag-unep"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117201056994924196","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}