“The latest UN climate report is both an eviction notice for humanity and a survival manual”

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The weekly round-up on the climate crisis and data on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

“Act now or it will be too late.”The final part of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), he threw yet another warning.Always the same, almost a litany.Heard, also repeated by political leaders but which does not turn into immediate actions.These are diluted, however, in the complex compromises between politics, industrial groups, energy companies and markets, without considering the economic and social repercussions of the energy transition.

Climate Conferences are a mirror of these complex relationships of force:the first week to say that there isn't much time, the second - that of political negotiations - to explain that time is needed.And while we spend our lovely Sundays at home discussing washable paints, demonstration actions and urban decoration, the IPCC "Synthesis report" tells everyone that what we have before us is the last window of time to be able to limit the increase in global temperature to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, the threshold beyond which our damage to the climate they will begin to become irreversible.

But the sense of urgency goes almost unnoticed in our media landscape not because it is obscured by the actions of environmental activists, as the givers of good advice and common sense claim as if it were pizza by the meter, but because the climate issue is not yet considered a priority by governments nationals who in words speak of a climate emergency and in fact act to protect consolidated and stainless development models, and from the media's narrative, porous to subtle and insidious misinformation of fossil fuel companies and climate deniers, and who continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over again, despite the fact that every year conferences and guidelines on how to talk about climate, science and energy are wasted.

Climate change:handbook against disinformation

The IPCC report tells us that "the climate is a time bomb that is ever closer to exploding", but at the same time "it is a guide to defusing it", commented the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres.“It's a survival guide for humanity.And it shows us how the 1.5°C limit is still achievable."

Guterres called on governments to take drastic action to reduce emissions by investing in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies, calling on rich countries to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 rather than waiting for the 2050 deadline that many of them they predefined:“This report is a clarion call to massively accelerate climate efforts by every country, every sector, every time.Our world needs climate action on all fronts:everything, everywhere, at once,” he said.

What the report says

The “Synthesis Report”, published on March 20, is the final part of the sixth assessment report (AR6) of the IPCC, the intergovernmental panel of experts established in 1988 to study the climate and scientifically inform international political decisions on climate change.The complete review of scientific knowledge on the climate crisis took hundreds of scientists eight years to complete. The first three sections of the AR6, published between August 2021 and April 2022, covered the physical science behind the climate crisis and warned that irreversible changes were now all but inevitable; the second section it was about impacts, such as loss of agriculture, rising sea levels, and devastation of the natural world; the third it was about the means by which we can reduce greenhouse gases, including renewable energy, nature restoration, and technologies that capture and store carbon dioxide.

The latest report contains no new scientific data, but brings together key messages from all previous work.Given that the next IPCC report will not arrive before 2030, the AR6 is effectively the scientific guide that will have to inform the energy transition in this truly crucial decade for the international community and the planet.

In the report, the IPCC shows once and for all the devastation that has already been inflicted on large areas of the world.Extreme weather conditions caused by climate change have led to an increase in deaths due to the intensification of heat waves at all latitudes, the destruction of lives, urban and rural landscapes and ecosystems due to droughts and floods.

According to the IPCC, more than 3 billion people already live in areas “highly vulnerable” to climate change and half of the world's population now suffers from severe water scarcity for at least part of the year.In many areas we are already catching up the limit of adaptation to these serious changes, and extreme climate events are pushing more and more people in Africa, Asia, North, Central and South America and the South Pacific to abandon their centers.

All these impacts are set to increase rapidly as we have been unable to reverse a 200-year trend of rising greenhouse gas emissions, despite more than 30 years of warnings from the IPCC, the report warns.

via Guardian

The world is warming in response to the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.Every year that emissions increase we consume the available “carbon budget” more quickly:this means that much more drastic cuts will be necessary in future years.

However, according to the report, there is still hope of staying within a 1.5°C rise in global temperatures.Current temperatures are about 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels.If we can achieve peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and reduce them rapidly in subsequent years, it might still be possible avoid the consequences resulting from an increase of 1.5°C.

Projected future cumulative CO2 emissions, based on the lifetime of existing and planned fossil fuel infrastructure, bring us approximately to a 2°C scenario (83%) (high confidence).However, “eliminating fossil fuel subsidies would have the effect of reducing emissions and producing benefits such as improved government revenues and macroeconomic and sustainability performance,” the report explains.

“Put simply, the IPCC is once again saying that the coal, oil and gas we already have in production will get us over our climate goals.The summary for politicians is simple:stop new fossil fuel projects, gradually reduce existing polluting projects, set in motion access to renewable energy.The science is unequivocal, the problem is the lack of political will that prevents us from acting courageously to reverse this crisis,” comment Alex Rafalowicz, executive director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.

“The report couldn't be clearer:now is the time to take bold actions that directly address the climate crisis in an effective way,” adds Tzeporah Berman, president of the Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty Initiative and international program director of Stand.earth.“Coal, oil and gas continue to fuel climate catastrophe, causing widespread devastation in vulnerable regions like the Pacific, where extreme weather events occur regularly and will become even more frequent.Millions of people around the world are losing their homes, their lives and their livelihoods due to the continued expansion of these dirty energies.Our governments must stop pretending they can ensure public safety by continuing to expand fossil fuels.They must stop allowing big oil and gas companies to make record profits in the face of destructive impacts to our communities and our environment.This IPCC report slams reality in our faces once again:Our house is on fire, so it's time for world leaders to take responsibility and stop throwing gasoline to fuel the fire."

“This report is both an eviction notice and a survival manual,” he comments Ferdinando Cotugno on Twitter.“The point is that we are choosing not to survive.China is licensing 168 new coal plants.The United States has granted permission to open a huge new oil field in Alaska.Europe and Italy continue to buy regasifiers."

“We are making progress, but not enough.We have the tools to avert and reduce the risks of the worst impacts of the climate crisis, but we must take advantage of this moment to act now,” gloss John Kerry, US Presidential Special Envoy for Climate.

This latest IPCC report comes, in fact, after a year in which the major oil and gas companies they announced record profits, after being a CEO of a major oil company for the first time was appointed president of the COP, and a few days after the commitment of ministers and officials from six Pacific countries - Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Fiji, Niue and the Solomon Islands - to create a “Fossil fuel-free Pacific”, calling on all States to join their effort for a global, equitable and unreserved elimination of coal, oil and gas.In short, the example comes from the governments of the most vulnerable nations who are moving to protect their economies and populations.

Preview image via ecodellacitta.it

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