The speed at which temperatures are increasing is alarming,At this rate, we may reach +1.5°C in the next 15 years.
UNEP Predicts +1.5°C of Earth In The Next 15 Years
New Delhi (ABC Live India): The past six
years have been the warmest on record since 1880, with 2016, 2019 and 2020
being the top three, according to a World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
press release on 15 January. The year 2020 was 1.2°C above pre-industrial era
(1880) temperatures.
WMO predicts a 20 per cent probability
that temperatures will temporarily exceed 1.5°C as early as 2024.
“The speed at which temperatures are increasing is alarming,”
says Pascal Peduzzi, Director, GRID-Geneva, the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP). “At this rate, we may reach +1.5°C in the next 15 years.”
According to the Paris Agreement, Member States committed to
limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared
to pre-industrial levels. Every country signing up to the
agreement set out a target, known as a nationally determined contribution
(NDC) for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by around 2030.
In January this year, António Guterres, the United Nations
Secretary-General, said 2021 was a critical year for
climate, calling for multilateral action. He urged Member States to submit
Nationally Determined Contributions to cut global emissions by 45 per cent by
2030 compared with 2010 levels; donors and multilateral development banks to
increase the share of adaptation
finance from 20 to at least 50 per cent by 2024, and developed
countries to fulfil their pledge to mobilize $100 billion annually for climate
action in developing countries.
Guterres also said it was time to stop building new coal power
plants and end subsidies to fossil fuels.
Growing momentum for action
In 2020 the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
increased 2.57 parts per million (ppm) reaching 4.14 ppm in December, the
highest concentration on record. Carbon-dioxide is the principal greenhouse
gas, though methane and nitrous oxide, much more potent greenhouse gases, are
also causing global warming.
As temperatures rise, so is the global momentum to address
climate change. In the world’s largest survey of public opinion on climate change,
conducted recently, a majority of people called for wide-ranging climate
action. Covering 50 countries with over half of the world’s
population, the survey included over half a million people under
the age of 18, a key constituency on climate change that
is typically unable to vote in regular elections.
The United Nations Environment Programme’s
(UNEP) World Environment Situation Room, set up in 2019, is a demonstration platform
put together by a consortium of Big Data partners. It includes geo-referenced,
remote-sensing and earth observation information and collates climate data in
near real-time.