World leaders pledge urgent action on climate change after IPCC report
World leaders and green groups have agreed the time for vague promises on climate change is over.
World leaders and green groups have agreed the time for vague promises on climate change is over, as they demand fresh approaches to combat “terrifying” findings from Monday’s UN report.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said world leaders, the private sector and individuals must “act together with urgency and do everything it takes to protect our planet” after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned the world was on course to reach 1.5C of warming around 2030.
US presidential envoy on climate and former secretary of state John Kerry said the report showed “the climate crisis is not only here, it is growing increasingly severe”.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for the November climate conference in Glasgow to fully recognise the gravity of the situation, tweeting: “The time for outrage is behind us … In Glasgow, let’s seal a deal that matches the urgency.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the IPCC assessment “makes for sobering reading”.
“I hope today’s IPCC report will be a wake-up call for the world to take action now, before we meet in Glasgow in November for the critical COP26 summit,” he said.
His chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, called on governments to produce climate change road maps and a new emissions plan.
The EU’s deputy climate chief, Frans Timmermans, said the 3500-page report proved “it’s not too late to stem the tide and prevent runaway climate change”.
Saleemul Huq, director of Dhaka-based environmental think tank ICCCAD, said the report was “the final warning that bubble of empty promises is about to burst”.
He said it showed G20 countries needed to accelerate emissions cuts to ensure their economies are in line with the 1.5C target. “It’s suicidal, and economically irrational to keep procrastinating,” Mr Huq said.
China insisted it was implementing its climate commitments, while signalling no new policies.
“China has insisted on prioritising sustainable, green and low-carbon development,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Beijing has set a target of reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030, and becoming carbon neutral by 2060. China has been criticised for pushing ahead with opening dozens of new coal power plants to ensure economic growth.
The Indian government called the report a “clarion call for the developed countries to undertake immediate, deep emission cuts and decarbonisation of their economies”.
India is the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but its emissions per head are low, owing to its large population of 1.3 billion. The report “vindicates India’s position that historical cumulative emissions are the source of the climate crisis that the world faces today,” the environment ministry said.
Dorothy Guerrero, head of policy at Global Justice Now, said the report was a “terrifying warning of our future unless drastic action is taken”. “There is no denying the science of the climate crisis,” she said. “But policymakers refuse to face up to the fact that it is rooted in economics and a history of colonial exploitation.”
Many interpreted the IPCC’s assessment as a clarion call to overhaul the fossil fuel-powered global economy.
“Where can we start? Almost everywhere,” said Katherine Hayhoe, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy. “Accelerating the transition to clean energy; reforming our most environmentally damaging activities; and recalibrating financial flows to accelerate the economic transition.”
Young climate activist Greta Thunberg said the report was a “solid (but cautious) summary” of the state of the planet. “We can still avoid the worst consequences, but not if we continue like today, and not without treating the crisis like a crisis,” she said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report “must sound a death knell” for coal, oil and gas.
AFP
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