A new research has found that Coal must be phased out seven times faster than is now happening, deforestation must be reduced four times faster, and public transport around the world built out six times faster than at present, if the world is to avoid the worst impacts of climate breakdown.
Latest reports suggest that countries are falling behind on almost every policy required to cut greenhouse gas emissions, despite progress on renewable energy and the uptake of electric vehicles.
According to the State of Climate Action 2023 report, published on Tuesday and compiled by six climate thinktanks, this failure makes the prospect of holding global temperatures to 1.5C above preindustrial levels even more remote.
The report examined all aspects of climate policy from governments across the world. Although other recent studies have found a rapid acceleration of the uptake of green technology around the world, including the expansion of renewable energy, the report found few bright spots.
The authors warned that the prospect of staying within 1.5C will slip away altogether without drastic action. Sophie Boehm, a research associate at the World Resources Institute and lead author of the report, said that global efforts to limit warming to 1.5C are lacklustre at best.
“Despite decades of dire warnings and wake-up calls, our leaders have largely failed to mobilise climate action anywhere near the pace and scale needed. Such delays leave us with very few routes to secure a livable future for all,”she said.
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She added: “There’s no time left to tinker at the edges. Instead, we need immediate, transformational changes across every single sector this decade.”
Public funding of fossil fuels continues, despite countries’ commitments made two years ago in Glasgow at Cop26, to limit global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels. Many countries are also still expanding their fossil fuel production: for instance, in the UK, the government last week announced new annual licensing rounds for exploration projects in the North Sea.
Countries including the UK are said to be increasing subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels. According to the report, government financing for fossil fuels increased sharply: subsidies almost doubled from 2020 rates, to reach the highest levels seen in nearly a decade, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
