Vulnerable states sound alarm as UN says planet will surpass 1.5C of warming

{"text":[[{"start":12.04,"text":"Countries could not “walk away” from the goal to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5C, a key group of nations hit by climate change said, as the UN confirmed the world was on course to shoot past the Paris climate agreement threshold."}],[{"start":26.48,"text":"The UN Environment Programme said in its latest report on Wednesday that the planet would surpass 1.5C of warming above the pre-industrial level “likely within the next few years”."}],[{"start":37.88,"text":"In the most optimistic scenario, the temperature rise would peak at about 1.8C before lowering. The world has so far warmed by 1.3C to 1.4C above the pre-industrial level."}],[{"start":50.76,"text":"The Alliance of Small Island States, which was key to the inclusion of the 1.5C ideal target in the Paris accord backed by almost 200 countries a decade ago, said the world was being “pushed beyond its limits”."}],[{"start":63.28,"text":"The target was “not an arbitrary goal that countries can waffle on or walk away from,” they said, noting that the Paris agreement had been reinforced by the International Court of Justice’s recognition of states’ legal obligations."}],[{"start":77.16,"text":"Anne Rasmussen, lead climate negotiator for Aosis, whose members are vulnerable to climate change, said it was vital the world make the shift from fossil fuels and “deploy every available solution to cut emissions rapidly”."}],[{"start":90.56,"text":"The report came as Pacific Island leaders meet in Palau this week at a forum which has previously declared climate change as “the single greatest threat” to regional security."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":101.12,"text":"World scientists are presently working on the next set of reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These reports face calls for a delay from China, Saudi Arabia and India, among others pushing for a postponement in publication until 2029."}],[{"start":116.68,"text":"But the Aosis said they must be made “available in time to inform” a crucial so-called global stocktake, which assesses international progress in tackling climate change, due to take place at the UN COP climate negotiations in 2028."}],[{"start":130.24,"text":"The reports, involving the work of hundreds of scientists from countries, are fundamental to rigorously setting out the extent of climate change, its impacts and how the world is responding. They are then used to guide global climate negotiations and both domestic and international policymaking."}],[{"start":148.24,"text":"Countries such as France have also called for the publication of the IPCC reports ahead of the stocktake, saying it was vital to have the best available science. The last set of IPCC reports were based on science from 2021 or before."}],[{"start":164,"text":"The fossil-fuel-reliant nations, which are arguing against a near-term release, said an accelerated timeline would compromise the scientific quality and inclusivity of the reports."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":174.84,"text":"Rachel Kyte, the UK’s climate envoy, said the global effort to cut emissions and build resilience was “underpinned by scientific evidence”."}],[{"start":183,"text":"“We continue to defend international scientific collaboration that ensures all countries have the evidence they need to make decisions on how they will manage the climate crisis,” she said."}],[{"start":194.32,"text":"Rasmussen added that governments must “focus not only on whether temperatures temporarily exceed 1.5C, but on doing everything possible to minimise that overshoot and return global temperatures to below 1.5C as rapidly as possible”."}],[{"start":208.8,"text":"UN secretary-general António Guterres said on Wednesday that this summer’s “scorching heat, raging wildfires and deadly floods” were a warning of “what lies ahead” as the world heats up."}],[{"start":219.72,"text":"“We must make the overshoot above 1.5C as small and short as possible. That demands an overshoot of ambition.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":232.88,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788394662_1956.mp3"}