Scientists urge countries to cut emissions, warn against 1.5 degree Celsius overshoot

Bengaluru: Greenhouses gases emitted in the past have committed the planet to higher temperatures but rapid emission cuts can still reduce the scale of the damage, and advances in climate science are making it possible to trace responsibility for the harm, say scientists.

More than 70 scientists from nearly 30 countries came together to produce the '10 New Insights in Climate Science' report. Referring to the upcoming thirty-first Conference of Parties (COP-31) as an important point for climate diplomacy to continue transition amid impending reality, it listed 10 major developments.

From rising ocean heat to continental drying, the 1.5 degrees Celsius overshoot narrows adaptation options to "coordinated efforts" by carbon-intensive industries to delay measures to cut greenhouse gases.

PM Modi flags climate inequality, says developed nations' carbon emissions six times more

"Amid these worrying trends, a central question is whether the Paris Agreement’s ambition cycle is working as intended," the report asked and pointed to poor progress in reducing global emissions at 12 per cent instead of the 55 per cent required for the 1.5 degrees C-consistent pathway.

The report sought a "robust" understanding of overshooting pathways during the next round of global stock taking by examining both ambition and implementation, operationalisation of just transition mechanisms, providing practical guidance to countries on adaptation, converting climate-finance commitments to accessible support and managing tensions at climate trade nexus.

Expressing concern over the disinformation affecting climate decision-making, the report called for verifiable disclosure of affiliations of delegates, funding and conflict of interest.

“The evidence is unequivocal: 1.5°C is a limit that we cross at our own risk. Beyond it, the risks of cascading and potentially irreversible climate impacts increase, with every additional tenth of a degree making them more severe,” said Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, co-chair of The Earth League and a member of the report’s editorial board.