The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC has been approved by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. According to the BBC, with its revised attitude to climate change reporting:
Their dramatic report on keeping that rise under 1.5 degrees C states that the world is now completely off track, heading instead towards 3C.
Staying below 1.5C will require "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society."
"No-one can opt out anymore," said Dr Debra Roberts, who's a co-chair of the IPCC. "We all have to fundamentally change the way we live our lives; we can't remain remote from the problem anymore."
Five steps to 1.5:
- Global emissions of CO2 need to decline by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030.
- Renewables are estimated to provide up to 85% of global electricity by 2050.
- Coal is expected to reduce to close to zero.
- Up to 7 million sq km of land will be needed for energy crops (a bit less than the size of Australia).
- Global net zero emissions by 2050.
The IPCC press release can be found here. Dr Debra Roberts warns:
This report gives policymakers and practitioners the information they need to make decisions that tackle climate change while considering local context and people’s needs. The next few years are probably the most important in our history.
The @IPCC_CH report on #GlobalWarming of 1.5°C is one of the most important #climatechange reports ever published. Limiting temperature increase requires unprecedented changes in society, but will have huge benefits. Every half a degree of warming matters. https://t.co/a7GOzVFv50 pic.twitter.com/p0wX5vYrA5— IPCC (@IPCC_CH) October 8, 2018
The message is clear. We will all have to make fundamental changes - even you, Aggregate Industries.
