It IS A Crisis And The Urgency Is Growing

Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months

Matt McGrath, 24 July 2019 (BBC News)

“…[To achieve the critical 45% reduction in global emissions by 2030, vital political advances must] happen before the end of next year…The climate math is brutally clear: While the world can't be healed within the next few years, it may be fatally wounded by negligence until 2020…One of the understated headlines in last year's IPCC report was that global emissions of carbon dioxide must peak by 2020 to keep the planet below 1.5C…Current plans are nowhere near strong enough to keep temperatures below the so-called safe limit…[We are heading towards 3C of heating by 2100 not 1.5…[I]f the 45% carbon cut target by 2030 is to be met then the plans really need to be on the table by the end of 2020…

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The first major hurdle will be the special climate summit…in New York on 23 September…But the really big moment will most likely be [at the UN meeting on climate] in the UK…at the end of 2020…[There is a growing] hunger for solutions that people can put in place in their own lives…People are demanding significant action, and politicians in many countries have woken up to these changes…[The U.S. has the green new deal and some countries have] legislated for net zero emissions…[But other countries seem keen to slow down progress. Last December the US, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Russia blocked the IPCC special report on 1.5C from UN talks…[If global summits over the next 18 months turn the tide,] the world might have a fighting chance of preserving our natural environment. But the challenges are huge…” click here for more

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