Greenhouse gas emissions need to be slashed by 65% by 2035, report warns

Humanity is running out of time to curb dangerous global warming that will plunge the planet into catastrophic floods, heat waves and famines, a major UN report warns.

The report from hundreds of the world’s leading scientists states that the world is “close to the point of return” – but can still avoid catastrophe.

According to the report, global greenhouse gas emissions must be drastically reduced or global temperatures will overshoot efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F).

And any fraction of a degree of warming will “intensify” the dangers to the planet, the report warns.

Devastating consequences include the melting of ice caps leading to rising sea levels, loss of coral reefs and glaciers, as well as massive economic damage to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy and tourism.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis report has been agreed after a week of talks in Interlaken, Switzerland.

It says the science is “unambiguous” that humans have caused climate change.

The report warns that Earth is currently on track for global warming of about 2.7°C between 2081 and 2100, assuming an ‘intermediate’ level of greenhouse gas emissions, but it could be as low as 1.4°C C if emissions go ‘very low’ but as high as 4.4C (7.9F) if they go ‘very high’.

But it says the damage could be halted by “deep, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would lead to an observable slowdown in global warming in about two decades.”

To do this, the world will need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 48 percent from 1990 levels by 2030; by 65 percent by 2035; by 80 percent in 2040 and by 99 percent in 2050.

In fact, the report urges the world to get as close as possible to ‘net zero’ emissions in just 17 years.

Governments agreed in Paris nearly eight years ago to try to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F) or at least keep it well below 2°C (3.6°F).

Since then, scientists have increasingly claimed that any warming above the lower limit would put humanity in grave danger.

The average temperature on earth has risen by 1.1°C since the 19th century.

Met Office Climate Scientist Dr Chris Jones, one of the report’s authors, said: ‘Today’s report reveals the sheer scale of ambition required to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

“We know that climate change is already underway, and the world has already witnessed extreme events associated with the relatively modest warming we have seen so far.

In fact, the world is now the coolest it will be, at least for many decades to come.

“The report underscores the need for urgent action – today’s decisions affect future generations.

Without immediate and equitable mitigation and adaptation, climate change poses an increasing threat to societies and human well-being.

But the report also shows the range of currently available and cost-effective mitigation and adaptation options.

‘Renewed efforts to invest in sustainable development give us the best chance of a climate-resilient future.’

One hopeful note in the report is that the health benefits of reducing fossil fuel use to halt global warming outweigh the costs of cutting emissions.

Commenting on the report, Professor Bill Collins, Professor of Climate Processes at the University of Reading, said: ‘This latest report outlines the exciting possibility of a sustainable future.

While some are concerned about the cost of this, a key finding of this report is that there will be substantial benefits to air quality (such as ground-level ozone) as we move away from fossil fuel economies.

“The economic benefits of these direct health benefits are considered to be greater than the costs incurred, even before all future climate benefits are taken into account.”

The way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the report argues, is to expand solar and wind energy, encourage “active travel,” walking and cycling, plant trees and conserve 30-50 percent of the planet for nature.

It also calls on us to switch to a ‘healthy diet’ in which we eat more vegetables, grains and beans and less meat,

Another key finding in the report is that carbon dioxide capture and storage – sucking carbon dioxide out of the air and holding it underground – will be vital in efforts to limit global warming.

The new synthesis report will play a vital role when governments meet in Dubai in December for this year’s UN climate talks.

The meeting will be the first to take stock of global efforts to reduce emissions since the Paris agreement, and hear calls from poorer countries asking for more aid.

Professor Pierre Friedlingstein, Chair of Mathematical Modeling of Climate Systems at the University of Exeter, said of the report: ‘For me, the one sentence from the report that says it all is: ‘The choices and actions implemented in this decade will have consequences now and for thousands of years.”‘