Guwahati/Interlaken: The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report suggests ‘Urgent Climate Action’ in order to reduce losses and damages for nature and people. The report says that “if we act now, we can still secure a liveable sustainable future for all.” The challenge to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius has been a challenge due to the continued increase in greenhouse gas emissions, reads a release from IPCC media, dated 20 March, 2023. It further states that the current measures are insufficient to tackle climate change. It blames the burning of fossil fuels and the unequal and unsustainable energy and land use for the global warming of 1.1 degrees Celsius that is above pre-industrial levels. This warming has resulted in more frequent and more intense extreme weather events that have caused impacts on nature and people in every region of the world. More intense heatwaves, heavier rainfall and other weather extremes have increased the risk for human health and ecosystems, reads the report. “Climate justice is crucial because those who have contributed least to climate change are being disproportionately affected,” said Aditi Mukherji, one of the 93 authors of this Synthesis Report, the closing chapter of the Panel’s sixth assessment. “Almost half of the world’s population lives in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change. In the last decade, deaths from floods, droughts and storms were 15 times higher in highly vulnerable regions regions,“ she added. Meanwhile, keeping warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels requires deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors. Emissions should be decreasing by now and will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C. The report suggests solution through climate resilient development. This involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in ways that provide wider benefits. For example: access to clean energy and technologies improves health, especially for women and children; low-carbon electrification, walking, cycling and public transport enhance air quality, improve health, employment opportunities and deliver equity. The economic benefits for people’s health from air quality improvements alone would be roughly the same, or possibly even larger than the costs of reducing or avoiding emissions. Climate resilient development becomes progressively more challenging with every increment of warming. This is why the choices made in the next few years will play a critical role in deciding our future and that of generations to come, said the report.
