Links tagged “un”

Even the developed countries, which account for only a third of all carbon dioxide, are unlikely to cut by more than 10% in the next ten years, so to meet the 1.5C target then would effectively mean zero emissions after 2030, plainly an absurd proposition. To meet that carbon budget would imply a halving of global emissions this decade, and then halving again in the 2030s. There is simply no way this is going to happen. But that won’t stop the myth of the 1.5C target being kept alive.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also goes after free speech. “Now is the time to end the ‘infodemic’ plaguing our world by defending a common, empirically backed consensus around facts, science, and knowledge,” he wrote. “The ‘war on science’ must end. All policy and budget decisions should be backed by science and expertise, and I am calling for a global code of conduct that promotes integrity in public information.”

Translation: We’ll establish an informational monopoly that will disseminate officially approved “facts” and suppress heterodox opinions. You think I’m exaggerating? Decide for yourself.

“While vigorously defending the right to freedom of expression everywhere, we must equally encourage societies to develop a common, empirically backed consensus on the public good of facts, science, and knowledge.” Guterres wrote. “A global code of conduct that promotes integrity in public information could be explored together with States, media outlets, and regulatory bodies, facilitated by the United Nations. With recent concerns about trust and mistrust linked to technology and the digital space, it is also time to understand, better regulate, and manage our digital commons as a global public good.”

The majority of the planet’s fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground if the world wants even half a chance — literally — at meeting its most ambitious climate targets. A new study published yesterday in the journal Nature found that 60 percent of oil and natural gas, and a whopping 90 percent of coal, must remain unextracted and unused between now and 2050 in order for the world to have at least a 50 percent shot at limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. ... 

In the United States, the study suggests that 31 percent of oil reserves, 52 percent of natural gas and 97 percent of coal must stay in the ground. These cuts are already steep. But it’s likely that the study has underestimated the challenge, the authors warn.

“There are 20 countries that are responsible for about 80 percent of all the emissions in the world, and if those countries are not doing enough, the rest of the world is doomed by their actions — or lack of actions, as the case may be,” Kerry said. ... 

According to the intergovernmental International Energy Agency, the top 20 emitters as of 2018 were China, the U.S., India, Russia, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Iran, Canada, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland and France. ...

“If we do not do enough, between 2020 and 2030, then 1.5 degrees is dead, gone — that will happen; even 2 degrees will happen,” Kerry added. “And currently, as we’re talking today, we are regrettably on course to hit somewhere between 3, 4 degrees at the current rate.”

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Earth ‘serially doomed’: The official history of climate ‘Tipping Points’ began in 1864

Morano: I attended the UN Paris climate summit in 2015. “Does this mean we never have to hear about ‘solving’ global warming again!?” I asked back then. “Now that the United Nations has officially ‘solved’ man-made global warming, does this mean we never have to hear about ‘global warming’ fears again!? Does this mean we can halt the endless supply of federal tax dollars funding ‘climate change’ studies?… Can we finally move on to other issues?” Alas, it did not mean we could move on to other issues.