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The aim of limiting global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as stated by a leading British climate scientist who talked with the BBC, is highly unlikely to be realized.
Professor Sir Bob Watson, the former head of the United Nations climate panel, said he was “pessimistic” on the BBC’s Today show.
The summers in Europe, China, and the United States have all been unusually hot, so his warning comes at the right time.
The United Nations has warned that if this threshold is crossed, millions more people will be endangered.
The Urgent Need to Act and the Barriers to Doing So
In 2015, during a meeting held in Paris by the United Nations, governments announced a commitment to work toward limiting the rise in global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. This was discussed during a meeting held in Paris by the United Nations. At the moment, this goal is the primary emphasis of the primary focus of the measures that are being implemented on a worldwide scale to counteract climate change.
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Climate scientists have warned governments for years that they must move more quickly to reduce emissions to reach this aim. Governments still need to heed the scientists’ warnings or take any action to reduce emissions.
Unexpectedly, the previous chairman of the United Nations organisation that researches climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), believes it would be missed.
After working at the White House, the United Nations, NASA, and the Department of Environment in the United Kingdom, Professor Sir Bob Watson is an Emeritus Professor at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research in the United Kingdom. He has held roles at all of these institutions. In addition to this, he is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished climate scientists in the whole wide world.
Reaching 1.5°C and “Net Zero” Impact Goals
His statements, which were made during an interview that was broadcast on Thursday, can be paraphrased as follows: “I think most people fear that if we give up on the 1.5 [Celsius limit], which I do not believe we will achieve, in fact, I’m very pessimistic about achieving even 2C, that if we allow the target to become looser and looser, higher and higher, governments will do even less in the future.” He made these statements during the interview. He thinks the maximum temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius will not be attained.
Lord Stern, Chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, confirmed his statements on Thursday during an appearance with the BBC’s WATO show. He also commended all involved for their honesty. He was also critical of the government’s lack of action regarding the issue of climate change.
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His exact comments were, “I think 1.5 is probably out of reach even if we accelerate quickly now, but we could bring it back if we start bringing down the cost of negative emissions and getting better at negative emissions.” His point was that even if we accelerated swiftly now, we probably wouldn’t be able to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius. He was referring to the objective of lowering greenhouse gas emissions to a level of 1.5 degrees Celsius below what they were before the industrial revolution. When we talk about “negative emissions,” we talk about extracting carbon dioxide from the air.
A straightforward and condensed introduction to the topic of climate change.
What does it mean to have a “net zero” impact, and how does the United Kingdom stack up against other nations?
Climate Action Tracker’s calculations indicate that present government commitments to limit emissions of greenhouse gases would result in a warming of the planet that is 2.7 degrees Celsius more than it would have been otherwise.
Conclusion
This number is not a direct measurement of the temperature all over the world; rather, it is an indicator of how much or how little the temperature of the Earth has warmed or cooled over time. This is because even relatively minor departures from the world temperature’s long-term average can greatly impact the environment.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recommended that the increase in global temperature be limited to less than 2 degrees Celsius rather than the previously proposed 1.5 degrees Celsius.
If coral reefs were only degraded by 70% instead of 99%, then fewer than 10 million people would be forced to leave their homes due to increasing sea levels, and fewer than 50 million people would be at risk of not having access to clean drinking water.
