Climate Report Warns World Is Close to Last Chance
2023-03-21
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1A group of United Nations scientists warned Monday that humanity is close to its last chance to prevent the worst of climate change.
2The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the world will need to cut carbon pollution and fossil fuel use by nearly two-thirds by the year 2035.
3The scientists called for an end to new fossil fuel exploration.
4And they urged countries to stop using coal, oil and gas by 2040.
5"Humanity is on thin ice - and that ice is melting fast," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
6"Our world needs climate action on all fronts - everything, everywhere, all at once."
7Guterres not only called for "no new coal" but also called for ending its use in rich countries by 2030 and in poor countries by 2040.
8He called for carbon-free electricity generation in the developed world by 2035.
9That is the year that nations have to come up with goals for pollution reduction under the Paris climate agreement.
10The 2015 Paris climate agreement set a goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.
11But the world has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius.
12The scientists told the Associated Press that this is likely the last warning they will be able to make about the 1.5-degree mark.
13They added their next reports will likely come after Earth has either passed the 1.5 mark or is on its way to passing it soon.
14Many scientists say hitting 1.5 degrees is inevitable -- or sure to happen.
15"We are pretty much locked into 1.5," said Malte Meinshausen, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
16But the concern, he added, is whether the temperature keeps rising from there.
17After 1.5 degrees "the risks are starting to pile on," said report co-writer Francis X. Johnson.
18He is a climate, land and policy scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute.
19The IPCC's latest report said the risks include loss of species and coral reefs, irreversible melting of ice sheets, and several meters of rising sea levels.
20The scientists said that to stay under the warming limit, the world needs to cut 60 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, compared with 2019 levels.
21That is a new target not included in the six reports issued since 2018.
22"We are not on the right track but it's not too late," said report co-writer and water scientist Aditi Mukherji.
23An earlier IPCC report detailed how the harms would be much worse if the planet experiences more than 1.5 degrees of warming.
24In the new report, scientists say continuing the use of fossil fuel to power existing or proposed infrastructure will warm the Earth at least 2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.
25Dipak Dasgupta is a co-writer of the report and a climate economist at The Energy and Resources Institute in India.
26He said because the report is based on data from a few years ago, the measurements about fossil fuel projects do not include the increase in coal and natural gas use following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
27Hoesung Lee is the IPCC chief scientist.
28He said the report contains "a message of hope in addition to those various scientific findings."
29Lee said, "It's up to each government to find the best solution."
30"The possibility is still there," Lee said.
31I'm Ashley Thompson.
1A group of United Nations scientists warned Monday that humanity is close to its last chance to prevent the worst of climate change. 2The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the world will need to cut carbon pollution and fossil fuel use by nearly two-thirds by the year 2035. The scientists called for an end to new fossil fuel exploration. And they urged countries to stop using coal, oil and gas by 2040. 3"Humanity is on thin ice - and that ice is melting fast," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. "Our world needs climate action on all fronts - everything, everywhere, all at once." 4Guterres not only called for "no new coal" but also called for ending its use in rich countries by 2030 and in poor countries by 2040. He called for carbon-free electricity generation in the developed world by 2035. That is the year that nations have to come up with goals for pollution reduction under the Paris climate agreement. 5Exceeding Paris agreement limit 6The 2015 Paris climate agreement set a goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. But the world has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius. 7The scientists told the Associated Press that this is likely the last warning they will be able to make about the 1.5-degree mark. They added their next reports will likely come after Earth has either passed the 1.5 mark or is on its way to passing it soon. 8Many scientists say hitting 1.5 degrees is inevitable -- or sure to happen. 9"We are pretty much locked into 1.5," said Malte Meinshausen, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. But the concern, he added, is whether the temperature keeps rising from there. 10After 1.5 degrees "the risks are starting to pile on," said report co-writer Francis X. Johnson. He is a climate, land and policy scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute. 11The IPCC's latest report said the risks include loss of species and coral reefs, irreversible melting of ice sheets, and several meters of rising sea levels. 12The scientists said that to stay under the warming limit, the world needs to cut 60 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, compared with 2019 levels. That is a new target not included in the six reports issued since 2018. 13"We are not on the right track but it's not too late," said report co-writer and water scientist Aditi Mukherji. 14An earlier IPCC report detailed how the harms would be much worse if the planet experiences more than 1.5 degrees of warming. 15In the new report, scientists say continuing the use of fossil fuel to power existing or proposed infrastructure will warm the Earth at least 2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. 16Dipak Dasgupta is a co-writer of the report and a climate economist at The Energy and Resources Institute in India. He said because the report is based on data from a few years ago, the measurements about fossil fuel projects do not include the increase in coal and natural gas use following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 17Hoesung Lee is the IPCC chief scientist. He said the report contains "a message of hope in addition to those various scientific findings." 18Lee said, "It's up to each government to find the best solution." 19"The possibility is still there," Lee said. 20I'm Ashley Thompson. 21Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Associated Press news reports. 22____________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24fossil fuel - n. fuel such as coal, oil or gas that is formed in the earth 25pile on - phrasal verb. add something in large amount 26species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar 27coral reef - n. a long line of coral that lies in warm, shallow water 28irreversible - adj. impossible to change back to previous condition or state 29on the right track - idiom. following a course that is likely to result in success 30infrastructure - n. equipment, roads and bridges that are needed for a country, area,... to function properly