Sep 20, 2022 21:00:00

World Meteorological Organization warns of lack of climate action, needs to tighten existing targets sevenfold

In the summer of 2022,

record-breaking heat waves were observed in various parts of Europe, and abnormal heat was observed all over the world in Japan, with the highest temperature ever recorded in western Japan. Meanwhile, on September 13, 2022, the World Meteorological Organization issued a statement titled 'We are headed in the wrong direction', emphasizing the need to toughen existing carbon emissions reduction targets. did.

United in Science 2022 | World Meteorological Organization
https://public.wmo.int/en/resources/united_in_science

United in Science: We are heading in the wrong direction | World Meteorological Organization
https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/united-science-we-are-heading-wrong-direction

As a countermeasure against climate change, the Paris Agreement , adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015, calls for efforts to keep the global average temperature rise below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and below 1.5°C. was set as a long-term goal to pursue However, if you check the ``graph of temperature rise compared to before the industrial revolution'' compiled by the World Meteorological Organization, the temperature rise will reach 1.32 degrees in 2020, and you can see that the rise has not stopped. You can view the original version published by the World Meteorological Organization by clicking the graph below.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, the seven years from 2015 to 2021 will be the hottest seven years on record, with a 48% chance of warming 1.5°C or more above pre-industrial levels within the next five years. He said he would. “Floods, droughts, heat waves, intense storms and wildfires are getting worse and breaking records with alarming frequency,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. This is the price we pay for our dependence on fossil fuels,” he said, emphasizing that greenhouse gas emissions associated with our dependence on fossil fuels are the cause of extreme weather.

In order to curb climate change, governments around the world have set targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. increase. However, the World Meteorological Organization said, ``Each country's carbon dioxide emission reduction targets have had a certain effect, but it is insufficient,'' and achieved the goal of ``limiting temperature rise to within 2 degrees before the industrial revolution.'' To do so, countries will need to set targets that are seven times more stringent than existing emissions targets.

Details of the carbon dioxide emission reduction target decided by the Cabinet on October 22, 2021 in Japan can be confirmed from the following page.

Global Warming Countermeasure Plan (decided by the Cabinet on October 22, 2021) | Ministry of the Environment
https://www.env.go.jp/earth/ondanka/keikaku/211022.html