By Daniella Lofstock ‘23 A new report from the United Nations’ climate research body has warned that the window to avoid climate collapse is “rapidly closing,” in what has been described as the organization’s direst warning yet. In their 2023 “Global Stocktake” report in anticipation of the upcoming COP28 Climate Conference, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) wrote, “Collective progress on adaptation and loss and damage must undergo a step change in fulfilling the ambition set out in the Paris Agreement. There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.”
The Global Stocktake reports were designed under the 2015 Paris Climate Accords as a way for member countries to take inventory to see how much progress has been made on their collective climate goals, with the first release this year and subsequent stocktakes being released every five years after that. Although the next assessment report cycle from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is not expected to finish until 2028 at the earliest, this first Global Stocktake report is key in reporting the current state of affairs. The climate policy analysts at the UNFCCC determined this threat by analyzing how close the world is to surpassing the limit of 1.5℃ of heating set during the Paris talks. Researchers believe that the environment’s temperature has increased by around 1.1℃ since the start of the Industrial Revolution, but that with its current trajectory, there is a high chance it will surpass a 2℃ increase by 2050, which climatologists say will lead to irreversible and unstoppable climate breakdown as feedback loops cause the natural stabilizers of the world’s climate system and biosphere to collapse. “Losses and damages to human and natural systems have already been observed. Climate impacts are eroding past human development gains and, without sufficient adaptation action, will impede the ability to make such gains in the future. Adaptation is the responsibility of all governments, at all levels, yet capacity to recover is undermined by repeated extreme climate events,” according to the UNFCCC report. This fear was echoed by junior Emily Maines, who said, “It is very scary to see what is happening to the planet, and how the years are starting to get warmer and warmer. I hope that the people on planet earth can come together and help reverse this climate crisis.” The UNFCCC hopes that these increasingly dire warnings about climate collapse and its social, economic, and ecological consequences will spur stronger climate action, but so far little action has been taken in any country. The low-income countries in the Global South that are most at risk due to climate change are largely powerless to stop it, restricted by their own minimal per capita emissions and their weaker economies and governments. In contrast, the richer countries of the Global North, which are responsible for the vast majority of historic greenhouse gas emissions, have been unwilling to take decisive action due to their own insulation from the crisis. Many activists worldwide have been pushing for bolder climate action to keep the climate within its “rapidly closing” safe window. “I am utterly horrified at the inaction of most governments and corporations around the world in the face of such extreme climate disasters,” said junior Shayne Cytrynbaum. “I could understand a little bit if they did not take climate change seriously back 10 or 20 years ago, when the climate crisis was only just beginning to make itself known, but now, in 2023, after the summer of disasters we’ve had, I am furious and heartbroken that the world still has not got their act together to take meaningful climate action.” Others, however, feel that although saving the climate is important, the lack of action on this crisis is more understandable due to geopolitical and legal bounds. “The government is bound by the Constitution and should do as much legislation regarding climate policy that is within their power, and only within their power,” said junior Austin Colm. This Global Stocktake report comes soon after the hottest summer record, in which swaths of North Africa, Europe and Asia were hit by blistering heat waves. Furthermore, this summer has had multiple dangerous wildfires, like the ones in Canada, Hawaii and much of the Mediterranean region. Floods have hit major cities such as Beijing, Phoenix, Mumbai, and Los Angeles, and over 14,000 are dead or missing after a catastrophic storm led to a double dam collapse in Libya. Further global heating could lead to even more wildfires, extreme weather events and storms, as well as massive famines, droughts and even pandemics, which can cause great harm to people's everyday lives.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
EditorShayne Cytrynbaum Archives
December 2023
Categories |