Climate Action Needed Now

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Action needed now. That’s the message coming from a new United Nations Climate Change report, noting the world is “nowhere near the scale and pace of emission reductions” needed to limit rising temperatures. 

One-point-five degrees Celsius by the end of this century – that’s the goal for countries signed on to the Paris agreement, but it’s a milestone that’s still out of reach according to a new United Nations climate change report.

While countries are “bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward,” those efforts are still not enough.

It’s a call to cut emissions including, carbon dioxide, which gets trapped in the atmosphere creating a greenhouse, warming effect.

The warning is nothing new. Prime Minister Philip Davis made the same charge during his debut at COP26 in Glasgow, last year.

Why is this so important? It’s all outlined in the Paris agreement – a legally binding treaty on climate change, with the goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. 

The recent UN report notes that the climate pledges of the 193 parties under the Paris agreement would put the world on track for 2.5 degrees of warming by the end of the century.

Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Simon Stiell, says, “The science is clear and so are our climate goals under the Paris agreement. To keep this goal alive, national governments need to strengthen their climate action plans now and implement them in the next eight years.”

Last year, PM Davis told COP26 attendees the impact of climate change was also clear.

However, since that conference in 2021, Stiell says only 24 new or updated climate plans were submitted to take action on climate change.

World leaders will come together again this year for COP27 in Egypt – another chance to close the gap between 2.5 degrees and 1.5 degrees.