JUST IN: Greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to increase, exacerbating the challenge world leaders face in preventing the impacts of climate change from worsening, UN warns in latest climate report.
The Central Arizona Project Aqueduct, which transfers 456 billion gallons of Colorado River water each year to cities 336 miles away, is seen on Sept. 23, 2022 near Parker, Ariz.from worsening, the United Nations warns in its latest climate report.
Los Cerritos Wetlands, once a thriving wetlands, is now mostly privately owned and used for oil extraction and processing operations in Long Beach, Calif.The window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future is "rapidly" closing, the report states. It will take a "quantum leap in climate action" to mitigate global warming, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.
An emission comes out of a smokestack on the west side of Manhattan as the sun rises in New York City on Jan. 16, 2022, as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey.The report also lays out why that goal is so important, saying that any incremental warming beyond that amount will worsen hazards such as extreme heat and severe precipitation and increase the risks of species loss, more extreme heat days that could be dangerous to human health, and decreased yields from crops or fisheries.
The report synthesizes nearly a decade of work from the IPCC, which brings together the best climate scientists around the world to create definitive reports to guide international and domestic climate policies and goals. The language has been accepted by every country that participates in the Paris Agreement and will be used as the backdrop for climate negotiations for the rest of the year when countries are expected to submit critical updates in their plans to reduce emissions.
"It clearly lays out, essentially, the main causes and drivers of climate change, impacts from climate change and also the solutions to climate change in a way that is much more accessible and clear and succinct for policymakers, decision-makers and the general public," Roe said.Many groups see the report as yet another call to action rather than a reason to despair.
"This involves deep emission reductions from every sector of the economy, as well as much greater investments to build resilience to climate impacts and support for people facing unavoidable climate losses and damage," Dasgupta said.The report was approved by all 195 countries that participate in the Paris Agreement, making it the definitive summary of climate science and solutions going into the next few years of global climate talks.