It is now or never - NRK

A clear message from the UN Climate Panel in the latest report:

It’s now or never if we want to reduce global warming to 1.5 degrees. Without immediate and sharp emission reductions across all sectors, Jim says, that would be impossible Skea, who co-led work on the latest report.

This means that if we ever have a chance of hitting the 1.5-degree target, peak emissions should be reached within 2.5 years at the latest.

If we do not achieve this, it may be too late to reach the climate goals that the countries of the world have agreed to in order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

We should start strong action now, according to the researchers.

It is preferable to do everything at once and quickly.

It will vary from country to country which measures are most appropriate and logical to invest in. But overall, researchers estimate that these are some of the actions that will have the greatest impact:

Solar energy: Large-scale expansion of solar panels is one of the world’s most effective and least expensive measures in combating climate change. It alone can reduce four gigatons of carbon dioxide per year. By comparison, the United States exports five gigatons annually.
Wind Energy: Wind turbines on land and at sea are also a reasonable measure to start quickly with significant emissions reductions.
Minor deforestation and other ecosystems – trees are known to feed on carbon dioxide, and they can store greenhouse gases for a long time.
natural carbon capture In agriculture – also in agriculture, plants can capture carbon dioxide, and this carbon can be stored in the soil if a large-scale change is made in agriculture today.

Guterres: – The investment frenzy in fossil energy

Dangerous roots are the ones that increase fossil energy production. Investing in fossil energy and infrastructure is moral and economic insanity, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a press conference Monday evening.

Guterres says the world must accelerate the transition to renewable energy and that “world leaders must lead.”

– It’s time to stop burning the planet, and start investing in the abundant renewable energy around us, says Guterres.

Guterres calls the latest climate report a “document of shame” and says some governments and companies are lying about their efforts.

A catalog of empty promises that set us on the path to an unlivable world, says Guterres.

The next few years are crucial

Emissions from 2010 to 2019 were higher than in any other decade previously measured, and increased across all sectors, according to the report.

To reach the 1.5-degree target, halting the increase in emissions by 2025 will not suffice. After that, emissions must be reduced by 43 percent by 2030.

Even if we achieve all this, the temperature will likely exceed 1.5 degrees for a while, before dropping again by the end of the century. To achieve this, the world must be able to capture CO2₂ that is already in the atmosphere, and store it.

The climate panel presents several possible scenarios for the future, based on how much we can reduce. Even in the most optimistic scenario, the chance of hitting the 1.5-degree target is only 50 percent.

And even here we are likely to exceed the 1.5 degree warming for a while, before falling again by the end of this century.

still hope

A serious caveat notwithstanding: Of the three sub-reports submitted by the Climate Committee last year, this is the one that gives the greatest cause for hope.

The report stresses that this is still possible and we already have access to many of the most important measures to make this happen.

He notes that the cost of low-emissions technology has fallen since 2010, as a result of active policies in this area.

Climate and Environment Minister Espin Barth Eide referred to this in particular as something positive from the report.

– The cost of many necessary climatic measures has fallen sharply in prices. For example, wind or solar power now costs a tenth of what it did ten years ago, which is an astonishing price development, Barth Eddy tells NRK.

– We are gradually talking about measures that are not really more expensive than paying for emissions. When we’re there, it’s cheaper to solve the problem than pay for emissions, and then a lot happens in the business world, he says.

– It’s actually a bit positive

Climate researcher Elaine Lérum-Poisson in Cicero has worked on the latest report, and she says the report is actually somewhat positive.

– Now we have two doomsday reports on the climate problem, but this report shows that they are already working. Before, she says, many countries have not done as much as they can to solve the climate problem as they do today.

At the same time, we see that the policy is working. Emissions would have been much higher had we not had general climate change.

However, she emphasizes that this is very urgent.

If we are to achieve the goals set by the United Nations, countries must immediately step up the pace, expand the tools and start achieving big things in climate policy, says Lérum Poisson.

How can Norway contribute by 2025?

Espen Barth Eddy says Norway has to do three things: cut down on what we can do in Norway, help other countries cut emissions, and use more aid money to help countries enter a sustainable economy.

– Emission peak at 2.5 years, how does it align with Norwegian oil and gas activities?

– It will eventually hit us, because in the long run the demand for Norwegian oil and gas will fall. Now we see that there is great interest in us to replace the loss of Russian oil and gas, in the near future this will not affect exports from Norway, but in the long-term decarbonization there will mean something for our oil and gas exports. As he says.

– But then it is also gratifying to see that on the other hand, you need technologies that can do without oil and gas.

– But then should the oil business be scaled back?

– We have to make sure that we don’t invest in such a way that we overinvest in terms of future demand, but as I said, there will be a period now where the Norwegian supply will contribute to Europe which is already reducing consumption, but first wants to reduce Russian gas consumption, says Barth Eddy .

More than 700 experts from 90 countries – 19 from Norway – participated in the work on the sixth major report from the UN Climate Panel, which consists of three sub-reports and an upcoming synthesis report.

Participate One He underwent all available and credible research and concluded that there is no doubt that humans are changing the climate.
The second part looked at the consequences of climate change, stating that they are already causing massive damage to humans, animals and nature around the world.
In February, the Climate Committee outlined how increasing temperatures would dramatically increase the risks of floods, storms, droughts and heat waves around the world.
The third part deals with what we can do to stop climate change.