Global warming will reach 1.5°C in the near future, according to the UN

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was approved on Monday after a week-long approval session in Switzerland, has been widely reported in the media. According to the Financial Times, the report said warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures is "more likely than not". The report continues: Previous IPCC reports have stated: “Carbon emissions continued to rise relentlessly last year, but for the world to have any hope of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, they must fall by almost half by 2030.” In the new report, this it reiterates the finding and, as the FT notes, adds a new table showing emissions reductions needed by 2035, 2040 and 2045, as well as by 2050. (The aim is to inform the next rounds of UN climate commitments that will be cover the period until 2035). Separately, BBC News reports that "projected CO2 emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure such as oil wells and gas pipelines would exceed the remaining carbon budget". Meanwhile, the Independent writes that "drastic and deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are needed to keep the average global temperature below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels". The Guardian's front page headlines the report: "The IPCC found that more than 3 billion people already live in areas that are 'highly vulnerable' to climate change, and half the world's population now experience severe water shortages at least part of the year . The report warns that in many areas we are already reaching the limits of how we can adapt to such major changes, and extreme weather is "increasingly displacing" people in Africa, Asia, North, Central and South America and the South Pacific." The report "is striking in how many references it contains to the loss and damage already suffered by communities around the world", writes the New York Times. Climate Home News adds: "Scientists say a 'manifold' increase in funding is needed to meet climate goals and protect communities disproportionately affected by global warming." The Wall Street Journal writes: "The world's nations must collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2035 % to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels." The Times adds: "The IPCC report says humanity's role is 'unequivocal' and has caused 1.1°C of global warming since the industrial revolution .” Meanwhile, the Guardian quotes IPCC chairman Hoesung Lee: “Tackling climate change is a difficult, complex and enduring challenge for generations. We, the scientific community, present the facts of the grim reality, but also point to the prospect of hope through concerted, genuine and global transformational change.”

The Independent reports that the new summary report "summarises six previous IPCC reports published since 2018, which collected and analyzed thousands of scientific papers". He calls the report "the clearest and most up-to-date assessment of the climate crisis." The document also quotes UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who spoke at a press conference to mark the launch of the report: “Today's IPCC report is a guide to defuse the climate time bomb. It is a survival manual for humanity.” The Associated Press also quotes Guterres: “Humanity is on thin ice — and that ice is melting fast… Our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once.” According to Climate Home News Guterres "is launching an "acceleration program for all parties" which "starts with parties immediately pressing the button to accelerate their net zero deadlines to achieve global net zero consumption by 2050". Politico adds that Guterres wants developed countries to commit to net-zero emissions by 2040 and developing countries by 2050. (There has been some confusion over whether Guterres meant net-zero CO2 emissions or net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. In the report The IPCC states: “Pathways that limit warming to 1.5°C with no exceedance or limited exceedance will achieve net zero CO2 emissions by early 2050, followed by net negative CO2 emissions of gases, they will do so around 2070.") Politico adds that Gurerres asked the countries of the OECD group of developed countries to commit to phasing out coal by 2030, with other countries to follow suit by 2040. The Times newspaper about he writes on the front page under the headline "UN sounds the alarm over net zero emissions targets". The Daily Telegraph writes: "The UK, like most other developed countries, has set itself a target of net zero emissions by 2050, and its climate change advisers have said that getting there any faster will be 'difficult to implement'." (The UK's target is net zero for all greenhouse gases by 2050. The "balanced path" to this target, set out by its official climate advisers, will achieve net zero CO2 emissions around 2043). The Independent reports that outgoing Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “We need to start taking this much more seriously or future generations will never forgive us, and rightly so.” And the Times of India quotes In.

Camilla Hodgson and Attracta Mooney, Financial Times, Carbon Brief