A new report published ahead of key UN climate talks has warned the world is falling drastically behind in the race to avert climate disaster, with the five-year period ending in 2019 the hottest on record.
Key points:
The new report revealed that global temperatures between 2015-2019 were the hottest on record
It noted carbon emissions in the same period had risen by 20 per cent
Its authors also warned of the alarming extent of sea-level rise and melting glaciers
The data, compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), says climate change is accelerating, with sea levels rising, carbon dioxide levels increasing and ice sheets melting faster than ever before.
The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries lay out national targets to reduce their emissions to limit long-term temperature rise by either 2 degrees Celsius or 1.5C.
These are benchmarks that will limit in important ways the impact of warming on world weather systems.
But even if all countries meet the goals they set themselves, the world will warm by 2.9C to 3.4C, the report found.
The current levels of ambition would need to be tripled to meet the 2C goal and increased five-fold to meet the 1.5C goal — which is technically still possible.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-23/climate-change-accelerating-warn-scientists/11537240
