Has the world gone mad? Despite promises made at the Cop26 summit, we are still nowhere near the right goals on limiting global temperature rises, says a crucial new analysis.
All that blah blah and this is what we get…
Has the world gone mad? Despite promises made at the Cop26 summit, we are still nowhere near the right goals on limiting global temperature rises, says a crucial new analysis.
Two years of planning, 40,000 delegates, 190 world leaders, dozens of meetings: after 12 days in Glasgow, the organisers of Cop26Cop stands for Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have released a draft of leaders' agreements.
So what do the pledges amount to? Not enough, say scientists, after a critical new Climate Action Tracker (CAT) report concluded that the world is on track for 2.4C of warming.
Experts warn that missing the 1.5C targetThe Paris Agreement is an agreement made by nearly all the world's nations in 2015 to cut greenhouse gas emissions and "pursue efforts" to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C. will have devastating consequences. But what does 2.4C mean? Here is The Day's checklist for what to expect:
1. Coral reefs vanish. Marine biologists once thought Australia's Great Barrier ReefThe world's largest coral reef system found off the coast of Australia. was too big to fail. But if heating continues, 99% of coral will die.
2. Hellish heatwaves. One billion people could be affected by fatal heat.
3. Crop failure. In extreme temperatures, maize and wheat wither. Land becomes unsuitable for farming.
4. Deadly droughts. By 2100, more than 400 million urban residents will be exposed to droughts.
5. Wild weather. Once rare hurricanes become common events, buildings and roads built to handle the climate of the past fail.
6. No more Arctic ice. At 2.4C, the Arctic ice melts every decade. Polar bears lose their homes.
7. Sea levels rise. As the ice melts, London, New York and Sydney are at risk. Fish swim through Miami. Low-lying islands face an existential threat.
8. Refugee crisisIn 2015, more than a million people arrived in Europe by land and by sea, leaving many countries struggling to cope with such an influx. The vast majority were escaping conflict in Syria.. It is too wet to live in Shanghai and too hot to live in the Middle East. By 2050, 216 million people are forced to flee.
9. Tropical diseases spread. Mosquitoes move north, spreading malariaA serious parasite infection transmitted by mosquito bites. It is one of the world's most lethal diseases..
10. Key insects die. Nearly one fifth of all invertebrateA cold-blooded animal with no backbone. Insects, spiders, worms and crabs are all invertebrates. species lose their natural habitats. Bees are in particular danger.
11. Permafrost thaws. An extra 2.5 million square kilometres of frozen permafrostAny ground that remains completely frozen for at least two years. Permafrost covers large regions of the Earth. melts. This leads to an irreversible loss of stored carbonCarbon is the fourth most common element in the universe. Other forms of carbon include graphite and diamond., making global warming worse.
12. Economic collapse. Millions lose jobs. Climate change wipes $23tn (£17tn) from the global economy.
There is no doubt: it is a terrible picture. "This new calculation is like a telescope trained on an asteroid heading for Earth," declared one Greenpeace director.
For climate activists, the implications are clear: the time to act is now. Optimists say we are heading in the right direction: in 2015, CAT estimated that climate policies would lead to warming of 3.6C.
"We've run down the clock but it's never too late," says one prominent climate scientist. "1.7C is better than 1.9C which is better than 3C. The action is far too slow at the moment, but we can still act."
Has the world gone mad?
Yes. World leaders have spent millions organising summits and still failed to come up with a meaningful plan to prevent climate change. It is mad that we are choosing to extinguish ourselves rather than face up to the problem we created.
No. This is how the world works. Progress is not linear. Change takes place at an uneven and frustrating pace, but it is happening. Leaders have agreed to meet next November to make tougher pledges. We should never give up.
Keywords
Cop26 - Cop stands for Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
1.5C target - The Paris Agreement is an agreement made by nearly all the world's nations in 2015 to cut greenhouse gas emissions and "pursue efforts" to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C.
Great Barrier Reef - The world's largest coral reef system found off the coast of Australia.
Refugee crisis - In 2015, more than a million people arrived in Europe by land and by sea, leaving many countries struggling to cope with such an influx. The vast majority were escaping conflict in Syria.
Malaria - A serious parasite infection transmitted by mosquito bites. It is one of the world's most lethal diseases.
Invertebrate - A cold-blooded animal with no backbone. Insects, spiders, worms and crabs are all invertebrates.
Permafrost - Any ground that remains completely frozen for at least two years. Permafrost covers large regions of the Earth.
Carbon - Carbon is the fourth most common element in the universe. Other forms of carbon include graphite and diamond.
All that blah blah and this is what we get…
Glossary
Cop26 - Cop stands for Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
1.5C target - The Paris Agreement is an agreement made by nearly all the world’s nations in 2015 to cut greenhouse gas emissions and “pursue efforts” to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C.
Great Barrier Reef - The world's largest coral reef system found off the coast of Australia.
Refugee crisis - In 2015, more than a million people arrived in Europe by land and by sea, leaving many countries struggling to cope with such an influx. The vast majority were escaping conflict in Syria.
Malaria - A serious parasite infection transmitted by mosquito bites. It is one of the world’s most lethal diseases.
Invertebrate - A cold-blooded animal with no backbone. Insects, spiders, worms and crabs are all invertebrates.
Permafrost - Any ground that remains completely frozen for at least two years. Permafrost covers large regions of the Earth.
Carbon - Carbon is the fourth most common element in the universe. Other forms of carbon include graphite and diamond.