PINA

The 350.org Pacific Climate Warriors put forward strong reactions to Monday’s release of the UN IPCC Climate report entitled; Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change.

For 30 years the UN IPCC reports have proven beyond doubt that Climate impacts are increasingly frequent and devastating. Frontline communities, who have contributed the least to the climate crisis, are experiencing the worst impacts. We have a decreasing window of time to prevent the worst of all possible futures, but we are hopeful that by taking action we can create the change needed to solve the crisis.

Joseph Sikulu, 350.org Pacific Managing Director says,”We are in a critical stage and it is clear that current mitigation measures are not enough. What we in the Pacific know is that our very survival depends on drastically reducing carbon emissions – and the fastest way to bring us back on track for our goal of 1.5 degrees celsius is by keeping all fossil fuels in the ground. How do we end the reign of fossil fuels? Turn off their money tap. We are asking that global leaders and financial institutions stop financing fossil fuels, and start funding just, community-led solutions to this crisis.”

Alisi Rabukawaqa, Pacific Climate Warrior says,“This recent mitigation report tells us that we have a small window to act, but it’s still a chance. The report stresses that decarbonisation relies mainly on quitting our use of fossil fuels. Our homes, our cultures, our descendants are all depending on this. While the world debates over scientific reports, the Pacific continues to live through devastating climate impacts. But we can shape what the future looks like for the Pacific if those most responsible for the climate crisis step up, phase down and phase out fossil fuels immediately.”….PACNEWS

SOURCE: 350.ORG/PACNEWS

The United Nations secretary-general says Australia and other countries intent on increasing fossil fuel production are dangerous radicals.

Antonio Guterres made the comment while launching a new global climate change report urging the world to hit the accelerator on the transition to renewable energy.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released on Tuesday, says it’s still possible to meet the objectives of the Paris climate pact to limit global warming to well below 2C, preferably to 1.5C.

It sets out viable, financially sound options to keep the 1.5C goal alive, with Guterres saying the pace of transition to renewables needs to triple.

“We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5-degree limit agreed in Paris. Some government and business leaders are saying one thing – but doing another. Simply put, they are lying,” he said.

He said climate activists were sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals “but the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels”.

Frank Jotzo is a professor of climate change economics at the Australian National University (ANU) and a lead author on the report, which focuses on what must be done globally to avert the worst consequences of climate change.

He said Australia had a patchwork of climate policies that only covered a small part of the economy – nothing like the wholistic approach the report said was needed to be effective.

“In addition, the level of ambition in the few climate policy instruments that are in operation is very weak, compared to what is needed to be on a trajectory compatible with a 2C outcome,” he said.

He said there was little in place to encourage the transport sector to move away from fossil fuels, building codes were lax on energy efficiency, and the federal government’s safeguard mechanism, meant to apply enforceable emissions baselines for heavy emitters, was ineffective.

“There is no effective incentive to reduce emissions because baselines are set so high that most companies are below them anyway, without having to do anything.”

Peter Newman is a professor of sustainability from Curtin University and a co-author of the IPCC report, with a focus on transport.

He said Australia and other countries intent on supporting fossil fuel industries were trying to subvert the market-led transition to renewables.

“And that is really silly. Even in countries that politically are considered hold-outs or laggards we are seeing this kind of market-led transformation,” he said.

The report details the dramatic drop in the affordability of renewable power since 2010: solar is down 87 per cent, wind, 55 percent, and batteries 85 per cent.

“We now have a cost effective set of solutions that can provide dramatic reductions. An exponential decline in fossil fuels is now on the cards because they are market ready, they are cost effective,” he said.

“We can make the changes now, working with the economy, and not against it. That’s a dramatic shift in what we are seeing in this IPCC report.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison went to a major climate summit in Glasgow last year without the two big things countries were asked for: stronger 2030 emissions reduction targets, and a rapid phase out of coal.

Morrison’s plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 relies on a technology-led economic evolution to cut emissions, capture and store them, or offset them, while allowing coal and gas exports to continue as long as there is demand.

New coal mining projects continue to be approved, along with gas developments.

SOURCE: AAP/PACNEWS

A new flagship UN report on climate change out Monday indicating that harmful carbon emissions from 2010-2019 have never been higher in human history, is proof that the world is on a “fast track” to disaster, António Guterres has warned, with scientists arguing that it’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Reacting to the latest findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN Secretary-General insisted that unless governments everywhere reassess their energy policies, the world will be uninhabitable.

His comments reflected the IPCC’s insistence that all countries must reduce their fossil fuel use substantially, extend access to electricity, improve energy efficiency and increase the use of alternative fuels, such as hydrogen.

Unless action is taken soon, some major cities will be under water, Guterres said in a video message, which also forecast “unprecedented heatwaves, terrifying storms, widespread water shortages and the extinction of a million species of plants and animals”.

The UN chief added: “This is not fiction or exaggeration. It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies. We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5-degree (Celsius, or 2.7-degrees Fahreinheit) limit” that was agreed in Paris in 2015.

Providing the scientific proof to back up that damning assessment, the IPCC report – written by hundreds of leading scientists and agreed by 195 countries – noted that greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activity, have increased since 2010 “across all major sectors globally”.

An increasing share of emissions can be attributed to towns and cities, the report’s authors continued, adding just as worryingly, that emissions reductions clawed back in the last decade or so “have been less than emissions increases, from rising global activity levels in industry, energy supply, transport, agriculture and buildings”.

Striking a more positive note – and insisting that it is still possible to halve emissions by 2030 – the IPCC urged governments to ramp up action to curb emissions.

The UN body also welcomed the significant decrease in the cost of renewable energy sources since 2010, by as much as 85 per cent for solar and wind energy, and batteries.

“We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a liveable future,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. “I am encouraged by climate action being taken in many countries. There are policies, regulations and market instruments that are proving effective. If these are scaled up and applied more widely and equitably, they can support deep emissions reductions and stimulate innovation.”

To limit global warming to around 1.5C (2.7°F), the IPCC report insisted that global greenhouse gas emissions would have to peak “before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43 percent by 2030”.

Methane would also need to be reduced by about a third, the report’s authors continued, adding that even if this was achieved, it was “almost inevitable that we will temporarily exceed this temperature threshold”, although the world “could return to below it by the end of the century”.

“It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F); without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible,” said Jim Skea, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III, which released the latest report.

Global temperatures will stabilise when carbon dioxide emissions reach net zero. For 1.5C (2.7F), this means achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally in the early 2050s; for 2C (3.6°F), it is in the early 2070s, the IPCC report states.

“This assessment shows that limiting warming to around 2C (3.6F) still requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by a quarter by 2030.”

A great deal of importance is attached to IPCC assessments because they provide governments with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies.

They also play a key role in international negotiations to tackle climate change.

Among the sustainable and emissions-busting solutions that are available to governments, the IPCC report emphasised that rethinking how cities and other urban areas function in future could help significantly in mitigating the worst effects of climate change.

“These (reductions) can be achieved through lower energy consumption (such as by creating compact, walkable cities), electrification of transport in combination with low-emission energy sources, and enhanced carbon uptake and storage using nature,” the report suggested. “There are options for established, rapidly growing and new cities,” it said.

Echoing that message, IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair, Priyadarshi Shukla, insisted that “the right policies, infrastructure and technology…to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour, can result in a 40 to 70 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “The evidence also shows that these lifestyle changes can improve our health and wellbeing.” .

SOURCE: UN NEWS CENTRE/PACNEWS