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IPCC report stark reminder to developed nations to become net-zero: Experts

According to the report, human emissions over this past decade have been the highest in history

Greenhouse gas emissions

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III report, 'Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change', was released worldwide on Monday

Press Trust of India New Delhi

The latest IPCC report on climate change is a stark reminder to all developed countries to significantly bring forward their transition to a net-zero economy, environment experts said after its release on Monday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres termed the report a "litany" of broken climate promises and warned that "we are on a fast track to climate disaster".

"The jury has reached a verdict. And it is damning. This report of the IPCC is a litany of broken climate promises. It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unlivable world.

 

"We are on a fast track to climate disaster. Major cities under water. Unprecedented heatwaves. Terrifying storms. Widespread water shortages. The extinction of a million species of plants and animals. This is not fiction or exaggeration. It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies. We are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5-degree limit agreed in Paris. Some government and business leaders are saying one thing -- but doing another," he said.

Guterres appealed to the nations to "demand that renewable energy is introduced now at speed and at scale. Demand an end to coal-fired power. Demand an end to all fossil fuel subsidies. Today's report comes at a time of global turbulence. Inequalities are at unprecedented levels. The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is scandalously uneven."

He said that inflation is rising, and the war in Ukraine is causing food and energy prices to skyrocket.

"But increasing fossil fuel production will only make matters worse. Choices made by countries now will make or break the commitment to 1.5 degrees," he said.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III report, 'Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change', was released worldwide on Monday.

The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said the failure to arrest the planet's warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is likely to cause irretrievable damage to the ecosystems and that developed countries must ensure high flow of finance and technology to developing nations.

"The latest IPCC report is a stark reminder to all developed countries to significantly bring forward their transition to a net-zero economy. This would leave additional carbon space for countries like India to meet their development priorities on the path to achieving their net-zero target.

"Further, to accelerate the low-carbon transition in the Global South, developed countries should ensure higher flows of finance and technology transfer in critical areas such as renewables, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and others.

"Failure to arrest the planet's warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is likely to cause irretrievable damage to our ecosystems, which in turn could disproportionately devastate the economies and vulnerable communities in the Global South," said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW.

Navroz Dubash, Coordinating Lead Author for one of the chapters of the IPCC report, said the report suggests a broadening in how we look at the relationship between development and climate action.

"Development actions are also climate decisions and vice versa, he said, adding, "Development choices about urban, energy and land systems shape can shift development pathways toward sustainability. And, because of growing impacts, sustainable development isn't possible without accelerated mitigation and adaptation."

"Climate and development can no longer be seen as separate issues development decisions are climate decisions, and vice-versa," Dubash said.

According to the report, human emissions over this past decade have been the highest in history.

"Limiting warming to 1.5 degree C is out of reach without immediate and substantial short term measures by 2030, in addition to longer term efforts to reduce emissions to net-zero," Dubash said.

Another expert called for three big emitters -- the USA, China and the European Union (EU) -- to ramp up their mitigation efforts noting that the report highlighted the criticality of accelerating near-term mitigation and embracing sustainable lifestyles.

"The IPCC report highlights the criticality of accelerating near-term mitigation and embracing sustainable lifestyles. It reveals that the goal of 1.5 degree C would be beyond reach if deep emission cuts are not achieved between now and 2030.

"The developed countries - especially China, the United States, and the European Union - must significantly ramp up their climate mitigation efforts as these three big emitters alone would consume 45 per cent of the available carbon space by 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario," said Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Fellow, CEEW.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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First Published: Apr 04 2022 | 9:58 PM IST

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