Headlines and Excerpts:
Countries are not doing enough to keep Earth's temperature from rising to near-catastrophic levels, a UN report says. Scottie Andrew, CNN November 26, 2019
“A new United Nations report paints a bleak picture: The commitments countries pledged to limit the climate crisis are nowhere near enough to stave off record-high temperatures. Delaying change any further will make it impossible to reach desired temperature goals. The time for "rapid and transformational" change to limit global warming is now, the report says.”
'Sleepwalking toward climate catastrophe:' World must slash emissions immediately, UN report says. Doyle Rice/USA Today November 26, 2019 (updated November 27)
“The report says that even if all unconditional commitments under the Paris Agreement are enacted, global temperatures are expected to rise by 5.8 degrees by 2100, bringing even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts. ‘This would make large parts of the planet uninhabitable and cause mass extinction of species,’ the report says. ‘The cost to protect our homes, cities and people from extreme weather will rapidly escalate, and no country will be immune.’"
The UN Report : UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2019 November 26, 2019.
A couple excerpts from the UN Report’s Introduction:
“Each year for the last decade, the UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report has compared where greenhouse gas emissions are headed, against where they should be to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Each year, the report has found that the world is not doing enough…Our collective failure to act strongly and early means that we must now implement deep and urgent cuts.”
“Climate protection and adaptation investments will become a precondition for peace and stability, and will require unprecedented efforts to transform societies, economies, infrastructures and governance institutions. At the same time, deep and rapid decarbonization processes imply fundamental structural changes are needed within economic sectors, firms, labour markets and trade patterns.”
For the record, there is nothing in the UN Report about “mass extinctions” or large parts of the planet becoming “uninhabitable” unless we abide by the Paris Agreement (check for yourself, here). And despite the scary introduction, the report’s specific recommendations are quite doable without “fundamental structural changes”. Here are the main recommendations*:
Note: Modal shift usually refers to mode-of-transportation changes, e.g, shifting to lower carbon-intensity modes of transportation such as from private car to public transportation. or moving freight from road transport to water or rail transport.
Again: there is nothing about these options that requires deep structural or transformative change. As the report notes, there are “plentiful options for rapid and cost-effective emission reductions”, all of which are currently being explored in developed countries. No, we don’t have to undergo a fundamental change of values or go all post-capitalist to save the planet. What we do need to do is to help China and India reduce their reliance on coal, because major emissions reductions in China and India will go a long way to limiting climate change this century. From the UN Report:
—
* An additional recommendation was to “avoid future emissions and energy access by linking energy access” with emission reductions for 3.5 billion energy-poor people with “feed-in” tariffs, auctions, targeted subsidies, support for entrepreneurs, better access to energy and basic needs addressed.