Climate change: Global catastrophe is coming if it is not stopped

Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt) will be the scene of the  27th Conference of the Parties (COP27), organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will start on November 6 and will last twelve days.

This year's UN Climate Change Conference will discuss how to tackle the climate emergency amid a growing energy crisis,  record greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations and an increase in extreme weather events, with the aim of achieving renewed solidarity between countries to comply with the  Paris Agreement, whose objective is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5 ºC, compared to pre-industrial levels.

In this context, a series of official documents have been published this week warning of the need to take action on the matter to contain this global phenomenon.

“Huge challenge”

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published this Wednesday the  'WMO Bulletin on Greenhouse Gases', in which it states that the atmospheric levels of the three main GHGs reached new historical maximums in 2021, which supposes "another fateful climate change warning.

Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the WMO,  believes that the report highlights the "enormous challenge" and  "vital need" to take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent global temperatures from rising further.

"We have to transform our industrial, energy and transportation systems, and our entire lifestyle," he said.

“The changes that must be applied are affordable from the economic point of view and feasible from the technical point of view, time is running out,” he alerted.

A day later, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) published its  '2022 Emissions Gap Report, in which it argues that as the impacts of climate change intensify around the world, The international community is still far from achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement and does not have a "credible route" to contain global warming to the maximum agreed.

"Only the comprehensive transformation of our society can save us from the acceleration of the climate catastrophe," reads the text. Likewise, he affirms that the progress of the countries has been insufficient, for which he urges the entire world to significantly reduce GHGs during the next eight years.

After the report came to light, the Secretary General of the United Nations Organization (UN), António Guterres,  declared that “unless countries drastically intensify their efforts to counteract the climate crisis, the world faces a global catastrophe”.

In this sense, he warned that the window to take urgent climate action is closing rapidly, for which he urged to follow the UNEP recommendations, that is, to end dependence on fossil fuels and invest in renewable energies.

“Really somber moment”

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published this Thursday its  'World Energy Forecast 2022', in which it maintains that the current energy crisis is causing an impact of unprecedented breadth and complexity, which shows that the system today's global energy supply is fragile and unsustainable.

In another recent report, the IEA indicated that the fossil fuel industry as a whole earned $4 trillion in 2022, double what was expected. He also recalled that investment in clean energy would have to be at least 4 billion a year by 2030  to reach net zero emissions by the middle of this century, which is why he suggests that the world energy industry invest these extra profits in low-carbon fuels emissions.

At the same time, in an  article  published this Tuesday in The Lancet Countdown, a group of scientists estimates that the health of the world's population is "at the mercy of a  global addiction to fossil fuels."

Last month, Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, together with his colleagues published a study considering the possibility that five dangerous climate tipping points have been passed due to global warming caused by humanity.

Also Read

• Sarbal Village: A hamlet in Kashmir waiting for development
• Farmers in MP face crop failure every year due to climate change
• Climate Change: Kishanganga Dam causes water concerns

Follow Ground Report for Climate Change and Under-Reported issues in India. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Koo App, Instagram, Whatsapp and YouTube. Write us on [email protected]