Climate Critical: 5 Big Takeaways From The IPCC Mitigation Report, According To Experts

Climate Critical: 5 Big Takeaways From The IPCC Mitigation Report, According To Experts

Protesters carry a large globe on a stretcher at a climate protest in Toulouse, March 26th 2022. The world is running out of time to prevent runaway climate collapse, but greenhouse gas emissions can still be halved by 2030 if nations dramatically improve energy efficiency, protect nature and continue to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, experts representing 195 countries have agreed. In its report released Monday, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) evaluated the steps countries have been taking to slow the rate of global warming, which is already bringing catastrophic impacts to regions all around the world. In reviewing the evidence, the authors found that while greenhouse gas emissions had reached a historic high in the last decade, developments in renewable energy technology, policies to improve efficiency and a new focus on preventing ecosystem destruction had begun to "bend the curve," with the growth in emissions slowing. Many available climate solutions, they concluded, are highly effective and can make a dramatic difference. But they also found that, in order to limit warming to 1. 5 degrees Celsius, emissions would need to peak before 2025—a target that was looking increasingly out of reach owing to government and