The IPCC report, agreed by governments and scientists, finds that:
- We are nowhere near on track to achieve the Paris Agreement targets of keeping global warming below 2°C, and ideally 1.5°C.
- Investment levels are insufficient to stay Paris aligned and investment gaps are widest for the agriculture, forest and land sector and for developing countries. Investment levels must increase by 3 to 6 times current levels to limit warming to below 2°C.
- Agriculture and land use account for nearly a quarter of GHG emissions and keep rising. Transforming farming and livestock can reduce emissions and draw down carbon.
- Demand-side mitigation efforts across all sectors – including lifestyle changes, reduction of food waste, and shift to sustainable diets – can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; and can improve health and wellbeing.
- For emissions that are extremely hard or impossible to reduce, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it is required. But there are limits to how possible this is and entails risks for ecosystems, livelihoods and health.
The comment of EarthDay.org
In this latest report, the IPCC emphasized emissions must be dramatically reduced within this decade and decline to net zero by 2050 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. “If we are to make the Paris Agreement mean anything at all then we must work together,” states Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG. “This means everyone from individuals, businesses, governments, and other parts of civil society have to commit to a transformative shift in the global economy as we know it.”
“This calamity also provides the world with an enormous opportunity to rewrite the future as green and equitable and take advantage of the most dramatic change since the Industrial Revolution which the green economy will dwarf,” notes Rogers, “It is a cautionary tale, however and those countries and businesses who don’t invest, who don’t commit research and development funding, who don’t create certainty in the global economic system, who don’t educate their citizens, and who don’t create a fair and transparent system for growing the green economy – will be left out.”
Back in February when the last IPCC report was issued, Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG noted that “a dire and drastic transformation” is needed but we are moving much too slowly.” With only 18 days (17, ndr) from Earth Day on April 22, EDO is calling on citizens of the world to stop being spectators, watching their futures be threatened by our collective inaction, and Invest in Our Planet
“It’s as if many of us have lost hope but now is the time to truly see our potential to change history. Change has never been easy but it takes just a committed effort from a few to create the tipping point necessary,” adds Rogers. “The solutions are out there and we know what must be done whether it’s transitioning to renewable energy, conserving our forests and lands, or ridding ourselves of the scourge of plastic pollution.”
The comment of IPES-Food
Hans Herren, member of IPES-Food, President of the Millennium Institute, and Right Livelihood Award (2013) Laureate, reacted:
“Scientists and governments agree, we are barrelling towards catastrophic levels of global heating – and our industrial food system is a major culprit. Without a rapid transformation toward sustainable and resilient food systems, it will be impossible to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C and prevent mass crop failures – entailing horrific consequences for marginalized people who did not cause this crisis.
“Yet right now, almost no government has plans in their national climate strategies to transform food systems – giving one of the world’s destructive industries a free pass.”
The comment of Emile Frison, member of IPES-Food and former Director General of Bioversity International
“Unlike for other polluting industries, sustainable solutions are readily available for food systems – such as reducing food waste, promoting agroforestry, and introducing sustainable diets – all while mitigating emissions, and delivering multiple benefits for food security, livelihoods and biodiversity.
“Upcoming international biodiversity and climate negotiations are key opportunities to tackle the greenhouse gases and pollution coming from industrial farming and the globalized food system.
“Governments must massively get behind and multiply the efforts of farmers and regional governments who are adopting agroecological practices – shifting towards diversified farms which work with nature.
“But using land only to sequester carbon could risk displacing people and undermining food security, with dubious benefits.”
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Notes:
The IPCC report can be found at: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/