Following the shocking UN report, the European Union called for immediate action on climate change: “It’s not too late”

The report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released on Monday shows “the the extreme urgency to act now», Declared the vice-president of the European Commission, the Dutchman Frans Timmermans, who considered that there is still time to stop the trend towards global warming.

“It is not too late to stop the trend and avoid an uncontrollable spiral of climate change, provided we act decisively now and all together.Timmermans, in charge of the European Green Deal, said in a tweet. In November, COP26 “will be the time when the world says’ Enough!”added.

This first evaluation report for seven years, adopted Friday by 195 countries, affirms that the man is “indisputably” responsible for climate change and has no other choice but to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, if we want to limit damage, some of which is already “irreversible”.

the UK, a country that will host the climate conference, noted in the report a “stern warning” about the impact of human activity on the planet and a call to action. The UK government said in a statement it was concerned about the “alarming rate” at which “human activity is damaging the planet”. “I hope the IPCC report is a wake-up call for the world to act now, before we meet in Glasgow in November for the crucial COP26 summit.“said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.”The next decade will be decisive for the future of our planet“Added the conservative leader.

Germany, for his part, he warned that time is running out. “The report clearly indicates that Many of the consequences of climate change can no longer be avoided: we can only prepare for and adapt to them as best we can.Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said, citing the deadly floods that hit Germany in July as an example of the result of global warming.

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, reacted to the report by stressing that it is a real “red alarm” for humanity and “must put an end” to fossil fuels “before they destroy our planet”. The leader also demanded that no more coal-fired power plants be built from 2021 and that he end further exploration and production of fossil fuels, shifting his subsidies to renewable energy.

In all scenarios, according to the report, the world will cross the 1.5 degree Celsius line in the 2030s, earlier than previous forecasts. Warming has accelerated in recent years, data shows.

The more than 3,000-page document, prepared by 234 scientists, points out that warming is already accelerating sea level rise, melting the planet’s ice and worsening extreme events such as heat waves, droughts, floods and storms. Tropical cyclones get stronger and wetter, while arctic sea ice shrinks in summer and permafrost melts. All of these trends will worsen, the report notes.

For example, heat waves that previously happened once every 50 years will now happen once every decade, and if the world warms another degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), they will happen twice. every seven years, the report warned. .

For her part, activist Greta Thunberg said the report has no surprises, but rather “confirms what we already know, that we are in a hurry”. Via Twitter, he said: “It’s a solid but careful summary. He doesn’t tell us what to do. It is up to us to be courageous and to make decisions based on the scientific evidence provided in these reports. We can still avoid the worst consequences, but not if we continue as today, and not without trying to be a crisis like a crisis ”.

For his part, Kaisa Kosonen, of Greenpeace, warned: “We will not let this report rest on a shelf (…) We will take it with us to justice”.

(With information from AFP and AP)

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