UN chief says world is progressing ‘with eyes closed on climate catastrophe’
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world was heading “with closed eyes toward climate catastrophe”. Even with the “gravity” of the situation, he said, major economies continue to increase greenhouse gas emissions. This came during a conference on sustainable development organized by “The Economist” newspaper in London.
Guterres also declared that the Paris Agreement’s more ambitious goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era is undergoing “intense processing.”
According to United Nations surveys, it will be necessary to reduce 45% of emissions by 2030 to contain the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, emissions remain high and the planet has risen an average of 1.1°C since the pre-industrial era, culminating in extreme temperatures, droughts, storms and catastrophic floods.
“The problem is getting worse,” Guterres said in a recorded video message. He noted that climate disasters in 2020 “displaced 30 million people from their homes – nearly three times the number of migrants caused by conflict”.
“If we continue like this, we can say goodbye to the 1.5°C target. And the 2°C target (the target) could be out of reach as well.”
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catastrophic warming
According to research by the UN Panel of Climate Change Experts (IPCC), even if countries live up to the commitments made in Paris, emissions could increase by 14% before the end of the decade, leading to a “catastrophic” warming of 2.7 Celsius.
Criticizing the “innocent optimism” that emerged after COP26 in Glasgow in October, the Secretary-General described countries’ dependence on fossil energy as “crazy” “This addiction to fossil fuels is leading us towards mass destruction”.
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, warns of climate catastrophe
Guterres’ statement came moments before the meeting, which is expected to last 14 days, with the aim of validating the historic report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on scenarios that would help limit and limit global warming. The document breaks down the possibilities by key sectors, which could increase uptake and uptake of carbon.
Consequences of the invasion of Ukraine
According to Guterres, the situation between Ukraine and Russia could further impede climate action. That’s because if countries decide to chase new suppliers of gas and oil to replace Russian imports, they will contribute to dependence on fossil fuels.
An International Energy Agency (IEA) report in 2021 concluded that limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C is a goal incompatible with new oil, gas and coal exploration.
By breaching a country-specific no-indictment protocol, Guterres criticized Australia and other “rebels” for failing to come up with “significant” short-term plans to cut emissions.
Also depending on coal, China and India have not fully committed to 1.5°C and have not set more ambitious emissions reduction targets in the short term.
“The good news is that all G-20 governments, including China, Japan and Korea, have agreed to stop funding foreign coal,” Guterres said. “Now they have to do the same internally and urgently,” he added.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations has also given rich countries responsibility for financing, technology and other essential tools to help emerging economies eliminate coal from their energy matrix.
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* With information from international agencies
