The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. Earlier today, the IPCC published an important report regarding the latest assessment from global scientists on the physical science of climate change.
IPCC report: ‘Code red’ for human driven global heating, warns UN chief
UN Secretary General António Guterres published a statement in response to today’s IPCC report.
I share some excerpts from his statement below:
Today’s IPCC Working Group 1 Report is a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk. Global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible…
The viability of our societies depends on leaders from government, business and civil society uniting behind policies, actions and investments that will limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We owe this to the entire human family, especially the poorest and most vulnerable communities and nations that are the hardest hit despite being least responsible for today’s climate emergency.
The solutions are clear. Inclusive and green economies, prosperity, cleaner air and better health are possible for all if we respond to this crisis with solidarity and courage. All nations, especially the G20 and other major emitters, need to join the net zero emissions coalition and reinforce their commitments with credible, concrete and enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions and policies before COP26 in Glasgow.
We need immediate action on energy. Without deep carbon pollution cuts now, the 1.5-degree goal will fall quickly out of reach. This report must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet. There must be no new coal plants built after 2021. OECD countries must phase out existing coal by 2030, with all others following suit by 2040. Countries should also end all new fossil fuel exploration and production, and shift fossil fuel subsidies into renewable energy. By 2030, solar and wind capacity should quadruple and renewable energy investments should triple to maintain a net zero trajectory by mid-century.
Climate impacts will undoubtedly worsen. There is a clear moral and economic imperative to protect the lives and livelihoods of those on the front lines of the climate crisis….The public and private sector must work together to ensure a just and rapid transformation to a net zero global economy.
If we combine forces now, we can avert climate catastrophe. But, as today’s report makes clear, there is no time for delay and no room for excuses…
The public sector and private sector include leaders who understand the science and the urgent imperative to radically change our energy infrastructure to completely eliminate fossil fuels on a rapid timeframe. But they are facing tremendous resistance from powerful forces that are actively trying to preserve the status quo, regardless of the horrific future costs.
The only way to avoid catastrophe for humanity and the global ecosystem is by giving environmentally responsible private and public sector leaders the power to enact the radically transformative energy policies that are required to achieve create post-carbon economies on a timely basis. And the only way we can give them that power is to mobilize millions of concerned citizens in the United States and the OECD countries in massive protest based on the strategies and methods of disciplined, organized, nonviolence. We must train and prepare now so that we can be ready to commit ourselves to the nonviolent struggle to save humanity and our planet. In the meantime, get involved with the Sunrise Movement, 350.org, the US Climate Network, Interfaith Power and Light, and climate action groups organizing in your community.
Jonathan D. Greenberg
