(CNN)Failure to act now on climate change will result in "catastrophic" consequences for the world, the leader of the United Nation's next climate talks has warned.
"I don't think there's any other word for it," Alok Sharma, the British minister in charge of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), told British newspaper The Observer, warning that the annual talks, which will take place in Glasgow, Scotland in November, would be among the last chances to limit global heating and save lives.
"This is going to be the starkest warning yet that human behavior is alarmingly accelerating global warming and this is why COP26 has to be the moment we get this right. We can't afford to wait two years, five years, 10 years -- this is the moment," he said.
Sharma's comments came one day before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is due to release its latest assessment, which has been years in the making and will likely provide the most conclusive look yet at the extent of human-made climate change.
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
Wildfire approaches the seaside village of Limni, on the Greek island of Evia, on August 6.
Hide Caption
1 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
People are evacuated on a ferry as a wildfire burns in Limni.
Hide Caption
2 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A resident helps a firefighter before fire spreads to houses in the Thrakomacedones area of Athens, Greece on August 7.
Hide Caption
3 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A firefighting helicopter takes water from a lake near Cine, Turkey.
Hide Caption
4 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A house in Pefkofito, Greece, is destroyed after the forest fire.
Hide Caption
5 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire near the town of Olympia, Greece on August 5.
Hide Caption
6 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
Residents react during a wildfire near Olympia on August 5.
Hide Caption
7 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
The grounds of a burnt hotel are seen in Lalas village, near Olympia, on August 5.
Hide Caption
8 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
People move belongings to safety as a forest fire rages in a wooded area north of Athens, Greece, on August 5.
Hide Caption
9 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A wildfire approaches the Olympic Academy, foreground, in Olympia, Greece, on Wednesday, August 4.
Hide Caption
10 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
The remnants of a destroyed house are seen here in the Varibobi area, northern Athens, on August 4.
Hide Caption
11 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
Onlookers view the smoke from the wildfires blanketing Athens' Acropolis on August 4.
Hide Caption
12 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A charred area of Mugla, Turkey, after a forest fire on Tuesday, August 3.
Hide Caption
13 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
Smoke and flames rise over the village of Limni on the Greek island of Evia, on August .
Hide Caption
14 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
Firefighters work as a house burns in the Adames area of northern Athens on August 3.
Hide Caption
15 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A woman pours water over a baby's head at a fountain in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, as temperatures reached over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, August 2.
Hide Caption
16 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A man leads sheep away from an advancing fire on August 2, in Mugla, Turkey.
Hide Caption
17 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
People watch an advancing fire that rages around Cokertme village, near Bodrum, Turkey, on August 2.
Hide Caption
18 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
Local residents watch as a Greek army Chinook helicopter collects water to tackle a wildfire near the village of Lambiri, Greece, on Sunday, August 1.
Hide Caption
19 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A handout photo from the Italian National Fire Brigade shows an aerial view of a fire in the Pineta Dannunziana reserve in Pescara, Italy, on August 1.
Hide Caption
20 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A man surveys a fire at Le Capannine beach in the Sicilian town of Catania, Italy, on Friday, July 30.
Hide Caption
21 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
Firefighters battle a massive wildfire that engulfed a Mediterranean resort region on Turkey's southern coast near the town of Manavgat, on Thursday, July 29.
Hide Caption
22 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A firefighter talks to his colleague as they work to put out fires in Cuglieri, on the Italian island of Sardinia, on Monday, July 26.
Hide Caption
23 of 24
Photos: In photos: Europe battles wildfires amid scorching heatwaves
A firefighting helicopter passes in front of a cloud of smoke from a forest fire near Spathovouni village, southwest of Athens, Greece, on Friday, July 23.
Hide Caption
24 of 24
The IPCC -- the global scientific authority on climate change -- warned in a landmark 2018 special report that the world only has until 2030 to drastically reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and prevent the planet from reaching the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The 1.5-degree marker has been identified as a key tipping point beyond which the risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages will increase dramatically.
The consequences of global warming was already clear, Sharma said: "You're seeing on a daily basis what is happening across the world. Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade the hottest decade on record."
This week alone there have been severe fires in Greece, Turkey, Siberia and the United States, while once-in-a-century flooding has wreaked havoc parts of Europe and Asia in recent weeks.
A summer of record-setting heat in southern Europe has set off devastating wildfires that have torn through forests, homes and destroyed vital infrastructure from Turkey to Spain. And this summer, devastating floods in Western Europe engulfed houses and streets, and claimed dozens of lives.
"I don't think we're out of time but I think we're getting dangerously close to when we might be out of time. We will see [from the IPCC] a very, very clear warning that unless we act now, we will unfortunately be out of time," Sharma told The Observer.
Many countries have pledged to become carbon neutral by the middle of the century and several of the world's biggest economies, including the US, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada, have overhauled their short-term emission cutting targets.
However, the UN has warned that details on how they are planning to get there remain vague.
World - Latest - Google News
August 08, 2021 at 05:07PM
https://ift.tt/3fL48Sb
The world is on the brink of 'catastrophe,' leader of next UN climate talks warns - CNN
World - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SeTG7d
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "The world is on the brink of 'catastrophe,' leader of next UN climate talks warns - CNN"
Post a Comment