Climate Change and the Climate Emergency

The report “United in Science 2022” analyzes climate change and highlights an emergency by revealing that concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to increase and, according to scientists, the emission reduction targets defined in the Paris Agreement must be met. seven times more ambitious, to reach the goal of not exceeding the temperature increase of 1,5 degrees Celsius by 2030.

O Paris Agreement, signed by 196 countries in December 2015, establishes that by 2030 the necessary steps must be taken to limit the rise in temperature on the planet to 1,5 degrees Celsius.

The “United in Science 2022” report, coordinated by World Meteorological Organization (WMO), warns that the world is approaching “tipping points”, irreversible changes in the climate system, as global warming increases.

Climate change is increasingly volatile and extreme, affecting the lives of thousands of people around the world.

Extreme drought phenomena, tropical storms, hurricanes, heat waves, forest fires, floods and continued loss of ice are phenomena that have increasingly affected us.

Even in terms of health, there is a higher prevalence of viruses, such as dengue, which is increasingly frequent in different regions of the globe, as it proliferates in more tropical climates.

despite CO2 emissions per capita have been decreasing in the European Union (EU) since 2000, there are countries where per capita emissions have increased and, as Simon Stiell, responsible for the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, says, “the scale and pace of reduction of necessary emissions”.

Hence the climate emergency that we have to address and overcome.

Using data from CO2 emissions by countries, it appears that the 28 Member States of the European Union show a consistent downward trend, but in the remaining 7 largest polluters this trend is not so strong.

“Climate science is increasingly able to show that many of the extreme weather events we are and are facing have become more likely and more intense due to human-induced climate change. We've seen this repeatedly this year, with tragic effects. It is more important than ever that we step up action on early warning systems to build resilience to current and future climate risks in vulnerable communities,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas, adding that the WMO is leading an effort to ensure early warning in all countries over the next five years.

It should also be noted that one third of global emissions are linked to food production, two thirds of which originate from forest clearing for food production, including pastures for cattle.

For António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, the WMO report shows that climate change and its impacts are heading towards a “territory of destruction” for the Planet.

It is necessary to increase the rate of replacement of fossil fuels by cleaner and renewable energy sources.

On November 4, 2022, António Guterres urges the leaders, who meet in COP27 (Conference of the Parties) in Egypt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030.

We are waiting for what the leaders will bring us to mitigate this climate emergency.

See also other features

• Renewable energy sources performance in the EU