UN’s final warning on climate

The report says emissions need to be cut by almost half by 2030 if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. – Others

ON March 20, the United Nations released its most important climate report. Covering thousands of pages and representing the work of hundreds of scientists, it summarises the six reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2018.

The conclusions are frightening, and familiar, echoing what scientists have been warning for years. The release of powerful greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane is heating up the planet and triggering more extreme weather events that are causing havoc, from floods and storms to more intense heatwaves. Humanity has squandered the warnings and the IPCC’s Synthesis Report says humankind has just about run out of time to avoid catastrophic climate change. Only deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions this decade and halting the destruction of nature will put the world on a safer path. The clock really is ticking close to midnight.