As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned, humanity still has the power to shape its own future and avoid the worst ravages of climate breakdown. Despite the alarming consequences of extreme weather and the looming threat of catastrophic changes, the IPCC’s latest report offers a glimmer of hope.
The report emphasizes that humanity has the knowledge and technology to tackle climate change, and that the shift to a low-carbon economy requires an enormous injection of funding. In fact, the report suggests that the world needs to triple or quadruple its current investment in green technology. Climate justice will also be crucial, as the people most affected by the crisis are the poorest and most vulnerable, who have done little to contribute to the problem.
Aditi Mukherji, one of the 93 authors of the report, notes that nearly half the world’s population lives in regions vulnerable to climate change. In the last decade, deaths caused by floods, droughts, and storms were 15 times higher in these regions.
The IPCC’s report offers a positive framing, one that deliberately counters the many voices that claim the world has little chance of limiting global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. The report shows that emissions fell by 6% in 2020 due to Covid-19 lockdowns, and that a similar decline is needed each year for the next decade. If the world continues emitting at its current rate, the carbon budget for 1.5C will be exhausted by 2030.
The publication of this report marks the end of a decade-long endeavour by the IPCC to assess global climate knowledge and advise on how human actions have altered the climate. The report’s authors emphasize that this decade is crucial, as decisions made now will impact the planet for centuries or even millennia to come.
Humanity’s Last Chance to Shape a Sustainable Future and Combat Climate BreakdownSimon Stiell, the UN’s top climate official, stressed that the report highlights the need for rapid and deep emissions reductions across all sectors of the global economy. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, called for countries to adopt an “acceleration agenda” involving the world’s biggest developed and developing economies. Developed countries must bring forward their commitments to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions to 2040, while emerging economies must do the same to 2050.
Guterres also urged developed countries to phase out coal by 2030, and all others by 2040. He urged no new licensing or funding of oil and gas projects, citing the International Energy Agency’s finding that all new development of these resources must cease for the world to limit global heating to 1.5C.
Achieving this will require a significant shift in investment, energy technology, and government policy. The price of renewable energy has fallen rapidly, making it a more attractive investment. However, oil and gas companies are also enjoying record profits and may resist changes to their business models.
Ed Miliband, the UK’s shadow secretary for climate change, emphasized the need for urgent action, citing the UK’s Conservative government for its inadequate climate strategy. Labour, he said, will make Britain a leader in tackling the climate crisis by investing in clean energy and leading an international clean power alliance.
Despite the task ahead, the IPCC’s report offers a beacon of hope. With concerted, genuine, and global transformational change, humanity can still shape its own future and avoid the worst ravages of climate breakdown.