The past six years have been the warmest on record since 1880, with 2016, 2019 and 2020 being the top three, according to a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) press release on 15 January. The year 2020 was 1.2°C above pre-industrial era (1880) temperatures.
WMO predicts a 20 per cent probability that temperatures will temporarily exceed 1.5°C as early as 2024.
“The speed at which temperatures are increasing is alarming,” says Pascal Peduzzi, Director, GRID-Geneva, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “At this rate, we may reach +1.5°C in the next 15 years.”
According to the Paris Agreement, Member States committed to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. Every country signing up to the agreement set out a target, known as a nationally determined contribution (NDC) for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by around 2030.
In January this year, António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, said 2021 was a critical year for climate, calling for multilateral action. He urged Member States to submit Nationally Determined Contributions to cut global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 compared with 2010 levels; donors and multilateral development banks to increase the share of adaptation finance from 20 to at least 50 per cent by 2024, and developed countries to fulfil their pledge to mobilize $100 billion annually for climate action in developing countries. Read more…
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