U.N. Says World Headed Toward 'Hellish' Warming

What's the story?

• U.N. climate scientists declared that this year has been the hottest on record, and the Earth is now heading toward a "hellish" 3-degree increase if action is not taken.
• Previously, many countries agreed to remain below 1.5 degrees of warming above pre-industrial levels — half of what scientists are seeing today. 
• The U.N.'s top climate official, Simon Stiell, said that world leaders must "stop dawdling" as the globe arrives at the frontline of catastrophic climate change. His statements come ahead of the COP28 climate summit that begins Thursday in Dubai, where world leaders will come together to discuss solutions to the crisis.
• Stiell told the Guardian:

"We're used to talking about protecting people on the far-flung frontlines. We're now at the point where we're all on the frontline. Yet most governments are still strolling when they need to be sprinting."

COP28

• The COP28 talks begin this Thursday and will last two weeks. It is being hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major oil and gas-producing country. This year will be the biggest annual COP meeting held under the 1992 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• Leaders and officials from 198 countries will be in attendance, for a total of 70,000 delegates. President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping of China, the leaders of the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, are not expected to attend.
• Sultan Al Jaber, the chief of the UAE's national oil company, Adnoc, will preside over the talks. This decision has been at the center of controversy, with people pointing to the hypocrisy of an oil executive leading climate talks. 
• Stiell defended the role of fossil fuel companies, saying: 

"It's important that we recognise that the fossil fuel industry has to be part of the solution. We know where the problems lie. But in order to progress the conversation from what needs to be done to how it needs to be done, the fossil fuel industry has to be part of the conversation."

What needs to happen?

• To stay on track for the internationally agreed-upon target of 1.5 degrees of warming, the global population must cut 22 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the projected total by 2030. This is equivalent to 42% of global emissions, or the combined output of the world's five top polluting countries: China, the U.S., India, Russia, and Japan.
• Currently, none of the G20 countries, which are responsible for 80% of global CO2 emissions, are making reductions at a pace consistent with their net-zero targets.
• António Guterres, The U.N.'s Secretary General, said:

"Present trends are racing our planet down a dead-end 3C temperature rise. This is a failure of leadership, a betrayal of the vulnerable, and a massive missed opportunity. Renewables have never been cheaper or more accessible. We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality. It requires tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels."

Are you worried about climate change?

-Emma Kansiz

(Photo Credit: Flickr / Creator: Zappys Technology Solutions)