The time is now or never to limit catastrophic temperature rises and climate breakdown according to UN scientists.
If temperature changes are to remain at or below the dangerous threshold of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, rapid, deep and immediate cuts to global carbon dioxide emissions must be made immediately across every section of society.
The report says that even if all carbon-cutting policies were implemented by 2020, the world would still warm by 5.8 F.
Climate change could cause humans to go extinct.
The cuts to global emissions alone won't be enough. If the world is to stay, the need for widespread use of carbon capture technologies that promise to suck carbon from the air and put it into storage but have yet to be demonstrated at scale is unavoidable. The development of hydrogen fuels and the redesigning of transport systems and cities are some of the technologies that will need to be accompanied by the planting of new forests.
The report was called a "file of shame" by the UN Secretary-General.
Major cities underwater, heat waves, terrifying storms, widespread water shortages, and the extinction of a million species of plants and animals are all on a fast track to climate disaster. They are lying. The results will be catastrophic.
The third and final section of the Sixth Assessment Report was the product of two weeks of virtual negotiations between climate scientists and officials from nearly 200 countries.
The final stages of the session were turned into a 48 hour marathon because of disagreements between scientists and governments over the summary.
The report recommends how much funding should be given to developing countries, carbon capture technology in meeting the crisis, and the future usage of fossil fuels. This report is likely to be the UN body's final warning before irreversible climate breakdown, which scientists say will include the total collapse of most of the Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheets.
We are at a crossroads. We can secure a liveable future if we make the right decisions now. The chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that they have the tools and know-how required to limit warming.
The problem is not technological according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. A lot of the measures that could be used to cut greenhouse gas emissions are low-cost and could even save money. Increased investment in renewable energy sources, further soil sequestration of carbon, reductions to methane emissions, and improvements to energy efficiency are included.
What countries and cities will disappear due to rising sea levels?
The report states that the economic benefits of limiting warming to 3.6 F (2 C) or lower are greater than the cost of the transition.
According to the report, the energy sector will have to reduce its fossil fuel consumption substantially, improve its efficiency, and use alternative fuels.
The right policies, infrastructure and technology can result in a 40% to 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. The co-chair of the IPCC Working Group which wrote the report said in a statement that the report shows that lifestyle changes can improve our health and wellbeing.
Widespread carbon capture will be needed to remove residual emissions from sectors such as aviation, agriculture and industry according to the report, although the technologies face significant environmental, economic and technological barriers which could limit their viability.
The only carbon capture methods that have been scaled up are those of reforestation, improved forest management and carbon sequestration in soil, but the authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change note that the carbon stored by these mechanisms is prone to sudden release through forest fires and the human demand for resources.
The development of new technologies to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it underground will be required to keep warming within 1.5 C. Direct air carbon capture and storage, which takes carbon directly from the atmosphere, and Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage, which captures carbon dioxide in plants before turning them into energy, were both criticized by the authors. The authors noted that the first approach could potentially increase emissions in other areas of production, while the second approach needs a lot of water.
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that removing carbon from the atmosphere won't be a panacea.
When did scientists warn about climate change?
The importance of climate justice is highlighted in the report. The authors of the IPPC wrote that the wealthiest 10% of households contribute to 45% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The head of global policy and advocacy at Christian Aid said in a statement that most of the people living on the front lines of the climate emergency have done the least to cause it. They need major emitters to take drastic action so that we can all have a safe and secure climate.
The first and second parts of the report were published in August and February, respectively. The first part dealt with the evidence of climate change and the second with the impacts of climate change on human societies. The final summary report will be published later this year.
During a tumultuous time, the report lands. Skyrocketing energy bills and commodity prices caused by soaring gas prices and worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have severely impacted living standards that have not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Climate scientists are demanding more difficult to achieve, but some observers say it also highlights its necessity.
Kaisa Kosonen, a senior policy advisor at Greenpeace Nordic, said in a statement that there was no room for new fossil fuels.
It was originally published on Live Science.
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