UN chief says ‘fossil fuel free-for-all’ must end as report warns world heading in ‘wrong direction’
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/13/world/climate-wmo-report-un-intl
Author: Reuters
The report, led by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), warns that the world is “going in the wrong direction” on climate change. With greenhouse gas concentrations continuing to rise in the atmosphere and world leaders failing to adopt strategies to hold global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, the Earth is inching closer to dangerous climate tipping points, the United in Science report says. “Heatwaves in Europe. Colossal floods in Pakistan. There is nothing natural about the new scale of these disasters,” Guterres said in a video message. “The current fossil fuel free-for-all must end now. It is a recipe for permanent climate chaos and suffering,” he added. Despite a dip in emissions during coronavirus lockdowns, planet-warming emissions have since soared beyond pre-pandemic levels. Preliminary data reveal that global carbon dioxide emissions in the first half of this year were 1.2% higher than during the same period in 2019, the report finds.