UN warns climate change likely to create new problems

New York: The United Nations (UN) has warned international community that certain methods to tackle climate change might create new problems for the planet.

These methods include carbon offsets and cloud-altering experiments, which could lead to financial corruption and unstable weather if not managed carefully, according to a new UN report.

The report comes two months before the UN hosts its Summit of the Future in New York. The summit will focus on meeting global commitments and finding ways to respond to new challenges.

Titled "Navigating New Horizons: A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing," the report notes that rapid technological, geopolitical, and economic changes have intensified threats to ecosystems. Hundreds of global experts identified these risks through extensive consultations.

The report warns that the demand for minerals needed for green technologies could quadruple by 2040, leading to biodiversity loss, pollution, and conflicts. Additionally, melting permafrost due to global warming may release harmful pathogens, threatening human, animal, and environmental health.

“The disruptions mentioned in this report might not happen, but we need to be prepared,” said Inger Andersen, head of the UN Environment Programme.

The report discusses eight major global changes, including rapid technology development like artificial intelligence, forced displacement of people, competition for natural resources, and the spread of misinformation. It highlights that geoengineering experiments, such as solar radiation modification, and the use of carbon offsets might cause more issues than they solve.
The report warns that these changes could have significant environmental impacts.

“The crisis of climate change, loss of nature and biodiversity, and pollution is affecting human problems like conflicts over land and resources, displacement, and poor health,” the report states, mentioning the impacts of the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
This report is part of the UN’s effort, called UN 2.0, to modernize and better support development goals related to climate, health, and education.

The goal was to identify new challenges that could disrupt the UN’s work and find ways to address them, said Andrea Hinwood, chief scientist at UNEP and a report author.

Hinwood emphasized the need to look at various issues from different angles to be more effective.

New technologies like solar radiation modification (SRM), which some believe could help fight global warming, could also have harmful side effects. SRM involves spraying substances into the sky to reflect sunlight away from Earth, but it might change weather patterns and doesn’t solve the main causes of climate change.

The report calls for careful scientific study and public discussion about SRM. Ignoring SRM could leave society unprepared and misguided, it warns.

A proposal about SRM was withdrawn at the UN Environment Assembly earlier this year because nations couldn't agree on how to handle the issue. The report emphasizes the need for governance over SRM but warns that pressure for a quick fix to climate problems will increase as temperatures rise.

Another risk is the rising demand for minerals used in clean energy technology, expected to increase fourfold in the next 15 years. This could lead to conflicts over land and sea, harming indigenous communities and sensitive environments.

The report’s authors did not make predictions but highlighted potential trends that governments could prevent.

Hinwood said risks could be reduced if nations continue to cut greenhouse gas emissions. For example, melting Arctic permafrost could release ancient microbes that might be harmful to humans and animals.