2023 must be the year we act decisively on fossil fuels
Source: https://www.c40.org/news/2023-must-be-the-year/
It is hard to believe that COP26 was only a year ago. Since that time the world has seen ever more shocking climate impacts, a global energy crisis exacerbated by a war in Ukraine, increasing poverty and food insecurity, and another COP that failed to deliver urgent, science-based action to reduce emissions. It’s also a year which has seen a rising global movement for climate action, with voters demanding leaders who will take the crisis seriously. As we move towards 2023, the need to crack down on fossil fuels once and for all and invest in a clean future becomes more pressing by the day. Throughout 2022 the impacts of global heating have rapidly gathered pace. Heatwaves, flooding, droughts, and wildfires have afflicted every region of the globe, with current average global temperature rise now at 1.35°C. However, COP27 saw nothing like this level of ambition. Countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions remain far short of what the science demands, and yet again, a COP ended without progress on ending the burning of fossil fuels. So it is fortunate that we do not have to rely solely on inter-governmental agreements. As well as the progress at city level – 75% of C40 cities are cutting emissions faster than their respective national average, and more than 1160 global cities are now participating in Cities Race to Zero