It’s ‘climate crunch time’ warns new carbon emissions report
The world has reached what UN experts are calling ‘climate crunch time’ with a stark new report showing greenhouse gas emissions at unprecedented levels.
The UN Environment Programme’s Emission Gap Report 2024, launched today at the COP16 biodiversity conference in Colombia, delivers one of the most urgent climate warnings to date.
The numbers paint a clear picture. To keep emissions below the critical 1.5-degree target set in Paris in 2015, countries must cut emissions by 42 per cent overall by 2030 and achieve a 57 percent reduction by 2035.
Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres warns that we are “teetering on a planetary tight rope.”
Without immediate action, the world faces a catastrophic temperate rise of 3.1 degrees Celsius.
The report does offer hope, noting that existing technologies could cut emissions in half by 2030. But this requires immediate action, particularly from the G20 industrialised nations responsible for 80 percent of global emissions.
All eyes now turn to the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan next month, where nations must present ambitious new climate plans.
‘Lebanon risks falling off a humanitarian cliff’ warns UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon
The UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon has urged the international community to help end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah warning that the country is on the brink of a humanitarian collapse.
Speaking at Thursday’s International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty, held in Paris, Imran Riza expressed grave concerns for civilians “as hostilities persist, humanitarian needs grow unchecked, and suffering intensifies.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the urgent need for a an immediate ceasefire, along with meaningful steps towards fully implementing the Security Council’s longstanding peace plan:
The ongoing violence has resulted in the displacement of over 1.2 million people within Lebanon, Mr. Guterres noted, while more than 2,300 people have been killed since last October, and at least 50 in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan.
‘Hope requires the United Nations’: Guterres
Thursday marks United Nations Day, and it saw the Secretary-General delivering a powerful message about the organisations enduring mission since its foundation in the ashes of World War Two.
In a world facing multiple crises, he emphasised that the UN remains the world’s central platform for solutions.
The message comes at a crucial moment following September’s landmark agreements by the General Assembly.
In September the Assembly adopted the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations.
The Secretary-General delivered a powerful reflection on hope in our troubled world.
“In Today’s troubled world, hope is not enough. Hope requires determined action and multilateral solutions for peace, shared prosperity, and a thriving planet. Hope requires all countries working as one. Hope requires the United Nations”.
Matt Wells, UN News
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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