Hundreds of scientists concluded in a major climate report on Monday that governments and corporations have the tools to turn around the climate crisis in the next decade.
Humans are releasing more carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. According to the report, there is still time to limit the planet's warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial standard. The most catastrophic climate change would be averted, including further mass animal and plant extinctions, significant increases in the severity of heat waves, and tipping points that could lock in even greater levels of warming.
Global emissions of heat-trapping gases need to be reduced by half by the year 2030. and by zero by the year 2050 to avoid heating the planet.
The new 3,000-page report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lays out a plan to meet the ambitious timelines. It says to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, as well as install technologies that suck carbon out of the atmosphere.
We have the tools to tackle the climate crisis. The report shows that. They need to be deployed much more rapidly, on a larger scale, to keep 1.5 within reach, according to a lead author of the report.
The political will and financial resources are needed to do it. 18 countries have consistently reduced their emissions over the last decade, according to the report. The report found that to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, financial investment in mitigation efforts would need to increase three- to six-fold.
Coal plants and oil wells are enough to keep warming under 1.5 degrees.
Some government and business leaders are doing two things. They are lying and the results will be catastrophic, according to the UN secretary general.
Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals, but the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels.
The new report is the third in the assessment. Physical changes to the planet were the focus of the first portion. In February, the second part of the assessment looked at how those changes will affect humans and the environment.
The three-part assessment process is conducted by the IPCC every six or seven years. The assessment was delayed because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The last time a solutions-oriented report was published was in 2004.
The solutions recommended in the report may be more doable, despite the fast approaching deadline for turning around global emissions. Since the fifth assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the cost of solar and wind energy has plummeted, and new innovations have made renewable-energy and energy-efficiency technologies work better on a larger scale.
John Bistline, a contributing author to the energy-systems chapter of the book, said that we are fortunate to be alive during this brief time in history, where we understand the stakes, but have time to do something about it.
The last assessment before the milestone will be this one. By the time the UN convenes scientists to make another assessment, it will be too late to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.
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