/ 05 April 2022

The latest plan to save the world

Forest in shape of lung, (3d render)
Forest in shape of lung, (3d render)

The amount of carbon dioxide that the world has emitted in the last decade is the same amount left to us to limit global warming to 1.5C and stave off the worst effects of climate change – and we’re not on track to do that. In a new report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released overnight, the experts say even if all the policies to cut emissions that governments had announced by the end of 2020 were fully implemented, the world would still warm by 3.2C this century. It is still technically possible – and they argue economically viable – but (and it’s a big one…) we’ve got 3 years for emissions to a peak and then start coming down significantly via “rapid, deep and immediate” emissions cuts. Even then, scientists will need to find a way to suck greenhouse gases from the skies by 2050. UN Secretary-General António Guterres slammed high emitting countries who “are choking our planet”. On that note, Australia’s coal exports are expected to reach $110 billion this financial year – the first time it has hit triple digits.

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