The fight to keep global heating inside 1.5 degrees Celsius has reached “now or never” stage, according to a report released on Monday by the world’s top climate scientists.
The highly awaited report, delayed little bit due to last-moment disputes over the correct wording of the document.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III Co-chair Jim Skea said in a statement, “It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.”
Limiting the heating within the 1.5 degrees Celsius is the aspirational threshold mentioned in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Julia Steinberger, ecological economist and professor from Switzerland’s University of Lausanne said, “First thing is, we’re on the wrong track. In terms of a trajectory and also in terms of policies, we are just not on track for 1.5 or even 2 degrees.”
Steinberger said, “We’re not talking about transition anymore. That ship has sailed — or more like, failed to sail. Instead, the report is very much focused on transformation. “It’s almost the first time that we can plausibly think about pathways to get beyond the age of combustion.”
The IPCC’s latest released report follows a series of global eye-opening extreme weather events.
The IPCC’s Skea said, “Climate change is the result of more than a century of unsustainable energy and land use, lifestyles and patterns of consumption and production. This report shows how taking action now can move us towards a fairer, more sustainable world.”