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The Climate Clock
The Climate Clock
The Climate Clock
The IPCC has prepared this special report on global warming of 1.5C
(1.5 degrees Celsius) in response to COP21, which was held in Paris
in 2015. The purpose to commission this report was to get insights
into the impacts that 1.5C warming would have, as compared to
further global warming. The IPCC authors have strived to highlight
the benefits of limiting human-induced global warming to 1.5C, as
pledged under the Paris climate agreement which underscored the
need for 196 signatory nations to reduce their emissions to limit
warming well below 2C and pursue efforts to limit it further to 1.5C.
Experts believe that we only have time till 2030 to avoid this climate
catastrophe, as limiting warming to 1.5C reduces the risk to half.
Although some scientists argue that holding global warming to 1.5C
is a ridiculous aspiration, the IPCC believes that this is not
impossible. However, it entails urgent transformational changes in
all the sectors.
To make this happen, the world will have to curb global emissions to
half by 2030 and zero out by 2050. Moreover, it requires a vast
range of measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the
atmosphere. The salvation lies in sourcing 70-85 percent of
electricity from renewables, putting a price on carbon, ramping up
technologies to remove carbon dioxide from atmosphere, investing
in carbon friendly land use and forest management practices.
Although the costs of a swift transition away from fossil fuels may be
substantial in the short term, they will certainly be less than the
ultimate costs of an unliveable planet. For this reason, developed
nations must provide the much-needed climate finance to
developing countries to make this transition swiftly.