A Decade to Save the World: IPCC Report Says Clean Energy Could Prevent Disaster
The world is facing a crisis like none its ever seen as it nears a precipice on climate change. That’s according to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which found that unless the world takes significant actions to reduce emissions it will surpass a warming threshold of 1.5°C, drastically impacting the world’s environment.
Thankfully the new special report, Global Warming of 1.5°C, gives humanity a little bit of time to fix the issue, allowing it to produce emissions at current levels for about 10 to 14 years before it is unable to avoid exceeding the threshold. Thankfully solar power already is making a significant contribution to reducing energy emissions. But to stay under that level of global warming humanity must make “rapid, far- reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.”
The IPCC report was written by 91 authors from 40 countries. "With more than 6,000 scientific references cited and the dedicated contribution of thousands of expert and government reviewers worldwide, this important report testifies to the breadth and policy relevance of the IPCC," said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC.
“According to the IPCC report, meeting the 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature target will require bringing carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by mid-century and dramatically reducing emissions of other heat-trapping gases. This calls for transforming our energy economy and transitioning away from fossil fuels by greatly ramping up energy efficiency and embracing renewables and other low-carbon energy sources,” said Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and a former lead author of the IPCC.
The report said that meet goals of the Paris Climate agreement the global emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) from humans needs to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach ‘net zero’ levels around 2050. That means a strong and continual transition in the energy sector from fossil fuels to renewable energy like with and solar.
“This should be a call to action for governments, companies and citizens alike to dramatically ratchet up actions to reduce emissions and to enhance resilience to prepare for the impacts of global climate change,” said Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) President, Lisa Jacobson. “The technologies exist today to cost-effectively make significant emissions reductions. We need the political will at all levels of government and by non-state actors to heed this very strong message.”
“The Council is also greatly encouraged by the corporate leadership and commitments to climate action of its members, which include commitments to targets of 100% renewable energy and doubling of energy productivity by mid-century and the setting of science-based targets,” Jacobson continued. “These commitments will make an impact in several sectors in how energy is produced and consumed.”
Thankfully progress is being made, even in the US, where the Trump Administration has showed anathema towards combatting climate change—even as natural disasters worsen. But already the US is sourcing more energy than ever before from renewables, reaching 18 percent earlier this year.
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