New research reveals which sectors of the global economy fuelled the emissions decline during COVID-19. We have a narrow window of time to make the change permanent.
Under the Paris Agreement, countries have registered plans to meet emissions reductions, but the current pledges, if fully realised, would take us to 2°C by the 2050s.
President Trump has confirmed that the US will leave the Paris Agreement on climate change on the earliest allowable date: Nov. 4, 2020. Will this hobble efforts to slow global warming?
Eminent economist Ross Garnaut says if climate action fails, he fears the consequences ‘would be beyond contemporary Australia’. But zero-emissions iron and aluminium could be the way forward.
Bill Hare, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
New research confirms that what the world pumps into the atmosphere today has grave long-term consequences. Governments - especially Australia’s - must urgently ramp up efforts to reduce emissions.
Nations are struggling to agree on how international carbon trading should work under the Paris accord. A weak result would undermine global efforts to fight climate change.
People are more likely to deny climate change if they’re inclined toward hierarchy, have lower levels of education or are more religious. But the strongest predictor of denial is a person’s politics.
New research shows that warming by more than 2°C could be a tipping point for Antarctica’s ice sheets, resulting in widespread meltdown and changes to the world’s shorelines for centuries to come.
Nick Golledge, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Individual actions to reduce emissions are important in two ways. First, they have an immediate impact, and secondly, adopting low-carbon life choices sends a clear message to political leaders.
The IPCC report says extreme sea level events that used to hit once a century will occur once a year in many places by 2050. This situation is inevitable, even if emissions are dramatically curbed.
Scott Morrison told reporters he discussed climate change with his daughters, aged 10 and 12, but didn’t share, unfortunately, the girls’ views on the subject.
Guterres wanted world leaders to tackle subsidies for fossil fuels, implement taxes on carbon, and end new coal power beyond 2020. None of this happened.