HUMANS are warming up the planet faster than ever before in a ‘code red’ for humanity, a damning climate change report warns today.
Earth is likely to miss goals to keep to 1.5 degrees of warming and will surpass that a DECADE earlier than expected, the United Nations experts say in bombshell findings.
In the largest ever report into climate change, top experts said that it was “unequivocal” that humans were driving the warming of the earth, and without drastic action to stop it, life could be at risk.
In the most sober assessment of the climate risks yet, experts found:
- Sea levels could rise by 2m and get more acidic by the end of century, risking eco-systems all over the world and mass flooding
- Mountain and polar glaciers will continue to melt for up to centuries, with the Arctic nearly ice free at least once before 2050
- Fires will be more likely across the planet with more unprecedented weather than ever before
- Temperatures on earth have risen faster than in any other 50-year period over the past 2,000 years
- Even if we act now, some climate change will be irreversible
- But if humans act now with deep cuts in emissions, rising temperatures may stabilise
- Boris Johnson’s COP26 climate summit is the last chance for action before it really is too late
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres said: “Today’s IPCC Working Group 1 Report is a code red for humanity.
“If we combine forces now, we can avert climate catastrophe. But, as today’s report makes clear, there is no time for delay and no room for excuses. I count on government leaders and all stakeholders to ensure COP26 is a success.”
Alok Sharma, the PM’s COP26 envoy, said today: “The lights are flashing red on the climate dashboard.
“We must come together at COP and agree ambitious emission reduction targets that lead us to net zero by 2050.”
He’s been flying around the world to speak to leaders to urge them to sign up to their own ambitious goals.
Most nations signed up to the goals of the Paris agreement in 2015, which aims to keep global temperatures well below 2 degrees, and try and keep it under 1.5 degrees.
Scientists are today saying that their best estimates say it will definitely happen by 2040 without further action.
Every year billions of tonnes of CO2 is pumped into the atmosphere, which is playing a part in warming the planet.
The PM today demanded other countries around the world use the landmark climate summit to pull together and agree new plans to tackle rising temperatures.
He said: “Today’s report makes for sobering reading, and it is clear that the next decade is going to be pivotal to securing the future of our planet.
“We know what must be done to limit global warming – consign coal to history and shift to clean energy sources, protect nature and provide climate finance for countries on the frontline.
“I hope today’s IPCC report will be a wake-up call for the world to take action now, before we meet in Glasgow in November for the critical COP26 summit.”
