World
Climate change: IPCC report reveals at-risk nations on ‘edge of extinction’
Nations endangered by the climate change are on the verge of extinction if immediate action is not taken, according to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
The landmark United Nations (UN) report states that global warming is capable of making parts of earth uninhabitable.
The current IPCC report indicates that heatwaves, heavy rainfall and droughts are to become more frequent and intense. It is ‘code red for humanity’, says the UN chief.
As per the report, there is "unequivocal" evidence that humans are responsible for rising temperatures. The report adds that in the next two decades temperatures are expected to increase 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Which could lead to the rise of sea levels by half a meter, but there is a chance of a 2m increase in the levels, by the end of the century.
That could have a devastating impact on low-lying coastal countries, said Diann Black-Layne, ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda.
“That is our very future, right there," said Ms. Black-Layne, the lead climate negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States.
The countries that are on high-risk have shown intense responses.
The former Maldives president, Mohamed Nasheed, who is also the representative of 50 countries that are at-risk by the effects of climate change, expressed his concern on the matter. He said "We are paying with our lives for the carbon someone else emitted”.
Nasheed added, “The forecast by UN’s IPCC report would be ‘devastating’ for the nation, putting it on the edge of extinction”.
The report has been deemed as ‘wake-up call to the world’ by world leaders including United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The host of the conference, Boris Johnson said the report showed help was needed for countries bearing the brunt of climate change.
"Today's report makes for sobering reading, and it is clear that the next decade is going to be pivotal to securing the future of our planet," said the UK PM.
‘’We know what must be done to limit global warming - consign coal to history and shift to clean energy sources, protect nature and provide climate finance for countries on the frontline’’, he added.
In accordance to the 2015 Paris Agreement, more than 190 governments agreed the world should limit global warming to 2C or ideally 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
The report has stated that under all scenarios, huge cuts in carbon must take place to save the world.
United States (US) Climate Envoy John Kerry says that countries need to change their economies urgently in order to meet the targets.