The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) called for “rapid, deep and immediate” cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to prevent our planet being hit by “unprecedented heatwaves, terrifying storms, and widespread water shortages.” If emissions aren’t curbed by 2030, we will face a dangerous future, with 20 per cent of the planet likely to be too hot for humans to live and billions of people around the world suffering drought, famine and flooding. 

The window for limiting global warming to relatively safe levels is rapidly closing, according to the 3,000 page IPCC report, released on 4 April. It appeared after two weeks of wrangling by representatives from 195 governments over how best to present the “state of the union” of climate science. Its conclusion is that carbon emissions must peak by 2025, before falling 43 per cent by 2030 on 2019 levels.

Launching the report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticised the “litany of broken climate promises” by high-emitting governments and corporations, which revealed a “yawning gap between climate pledges, and reality.”

The full report can be found at https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115452

In-depth media coverage
New Scientist – https://www.newscientist.com/article/2314731-global-emissions-must-peak-in-just-three-years-to-stay-below-1-5c/
The Economist – https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/04/04/a-new-ipcc-report-says-the-window-to-meet-un-climate-targets-is-vanishing