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UN: World Must Unite Over Climate 12/09 06:15
(AP) -- The world needs a new approach to environmental crises threatening
the health of people and the planet by adopting policies to jointly tackle
climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and pollution, according to
a U.N. report released Tuesday.
Those issues are inextricably linked and require solutions that include
increased spending and financial incentives to transition away from fossil
fuels, encourage sustainable agricultural practices, curb pollution and limit
waste, the authors of the U.N. Environment Programme's quadrennial Global
Environment Outlook said.
"You can't think of climate change without thinking of biodiversity, land
degradation and pollution," said Bob Watson, one of the lead authors and a
former top NASA and British climate scientist. "You can't think of biodiversity
loss without thinking about the implications of climate change and pollution."
They're "all undermining our economy," worsening health and poverty and
threatening food and water security and even national security, Watson said.
Almost 300 scientists from 83 countries contributed to this year's report --
called the most comprehensive global environment assessment ever undertaken --
which was released during the U.N. Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.
Experts have warned that the world is nearing a tipping point on climate
change, species and land loss and other harms. But efforts to address those
problems largely have been pursued through individual agreements that haven't
made nearly enough progress, they said.
Instead, they advocate an approach that involves every area of government,
the financial sector, industry and citizens and a circular economy that
recognizes that natural resources are limited.
"What we're saying is we can become much more sustainable, but it will take
unprecedented change to transform these systems," Watson said. "It has to be
done rapidly now because we're running out of time."
Global tipping point
The report lays out a dire future if the world continues on its current path.
Emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases -- primarily from burning fossil
fuels such as coal, gas and oil -- reached a new high in 2024, despite decades
of negotiations between countries to curb emissions.
Ten years ago, almost 200 nations signed the Paris Agreement with the goal
of limiting future warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees
Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times to avoid or lessen the most catastrophic
effects of climate change. But on the current trajectory, the climate could
warm by 2.4 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, Watson said.
Scientists say climate change is contributing to wilder weather extremes,
including more intense storms, drought, heat and wildfires.
What's more, climate change is a threat multiplier, meaning that it makes
things like land degradation, deforestation and biodiversity loss worse, said
Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and chief
scientist at the Nature Conservancy, who wasn't involved in the report.
"If we don't fix climate change, we're not going to be able to fix these
other issues too," Hayhoe said.
Among other challenges: Up to 40% of land area globally is degraded; more
than 1 million plant and animal species face extinction; and pollution
contributes to an estimated 9 million deaths a year.
Adopting a comprehensive approach would be expensive, scientists
acknowledge, but cost far less than the harms that otherwise could result.
The report says that to achieve a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and
restore biodiversity, about $8 trillion in global investment is needed every
year. But starting in 2050, economic benefits will surpass spending, growing to
$20 trillion a year by 2070 and $100 trillion a year thereafter.
Nations also must look beyond gross domestic product as a barometer for
economic health, because it doesn't measure whether growth is sustainable or
recognize its potential harms, Watson said.
Environmental issues aren't the only things interlinked, Watson said. He
also said governments, nonprofits, industry and the financial sector also must
ensure that there are incentives and funding for renewable energy and
sustainable agricultural practices, for example.
University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann, who wasn't
involved in the report, welcomed its emphasis on tackling issues across
governments and society.
"We must do what is right, rather than what seems politically expedient,"
Mann said. "The stakes are simply too great."
International cooperation falters
Despite the report's urgent call for action, international cooperation is
anything but guaranteed, scientists say -- especially as U.S. President Donald
Trump has refused to participate in many of the discussions.
Trump, who withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, has called
climate change a hoax. He's promoted fossil fuel use, canceled permits for
renewable energy and is abandoning automobile fuel-efficiency standards.
"International action and agreements are becoming harder and harder," Watson
said, noting that this year's U.N. climate conference in Brazil failed to "move
in the direction we needed it to move" with stronger commitments to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and other issues.
Talks this summer on a treaty to address plastic pollution in Geneva ended
without an agreement, though a U.N. conference earlier in the year garnered
commitments for funding to protect global biodiversity.
Watson said that the U.S. didn't attend the intergovernmental meeting in
Nairobi, but joined discussions on the last day and "said they didn't agree
with anything in the report."
"Some countries might say if the U.S. is not willing to act, why should we
act?" Watson said.
Still, he believes that some countries will move forward, while others,
including the U.S., could fall behind.
Hayhoe, the Texas Tech scientist, said that she's confident changes will
happen, because the stakes are becoming too great.
"It is not about saving the planet. The planet will be orbiting the sun long
after we're gone," Hayhoe said. "The question is, will there be a healthy,
thriving human society on that planet? And the answer to that question is very
much up for grabs at this point."
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