The United in Science Report, a multi-organization compilation of the latest climate science information released by the United Nations this week, states: “The 5-year period from 2016–2020 is expected to be the warmest on record with an average global mean surface temperature of 1.1 °C above pre-industrial era (1850–1900).”
The report reaches the sobering assessment that there is now a 20% chance Earth’s annual global mean near surface temperature will exceed 1.5 °C by 2024. (The goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement was to unite countries in accomplishing the necessary greenhouse gas emission reductions to prevent a 1.5 °C increase by year 2100).
It concludes: “The challenge is clear: if we want to keep the Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to well below 2 °C and pursuing a 1.5 °C goal alive, postponing transformational action is not an option. The Emissions Gap Report 2019 showed that to have a likely chance of meeting the Paris Agreement goals, the cuts in global emissions required per year from 2020 to 2030 are close to 3% for a 2 °C target and more than 7% per year on average for the 1.5 °C goal.”
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the U.N. states, “Never before has it been so clear that we need long term, inclusive, clean transitions to tackle the climate crisis and achieve sustainable development. We must turn the recovery from the pandemic into a real opportunity to build a better future.”
