From The Associated Press 12.7.23
As COP28 talks try to curb warming, study says Earth at risk of hitting irreversible tipping points
The world is in danger of hitting the point of no return for five of Earth’s natural systems because of human-caused climate change, a team of 200 scientists said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations’ climate summit.
The report on so-called “tipping points” — moments when the Earth has warmed so much that certain side effects become irreversible — looks at 26 different systems and points to five of them — the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, the dying off of warm-water coral reefs, the thawing of permafrost and impacts to a North Atlantic ocean current — as close to triggering.
“These tipping points pose threats of a magnitude that has never been faced before by humanity,” said Tim Lenton, the report’s lead author and Earth systems scientist and the University of Exeter in the U.K.
apnews.com/…
From Reuters 12.7.23
COP28: will there be an agreement to phase out fossil fuels?
It's the issue at the core of COP28: will this year's U.N. climate talks, held in major oil producer the United Arab Emirates, produce the first global agreement to phase out fossil fuel use?
Burning fossil fuels for energy is by far the biggest cause of climate change. It is also the engine of modern life - even with the growth of renewables, fossil fuels produce around 80% of the world's energy.
U.N. climate negotiations over the last three decades, however, have yet to address the issue head on.
www.reuters.com/…
From The Guardian 12.7.23
Visualised: how all of G20 is missing climate goals
Not a single G20 country has policies in place that are consistent with the Paris agreement’s goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C and meeting their “fair share” of emissions reduction.
The assessment, based on data up to 5 December provided by the Climate Action Tracker, comes as leaders gather in Dubai for the Cop28 conference.
It assesses each country against its “fair share” contribution to the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account considerations such as the historical emissions of higher-income countries, which may increase their responsibility to take action. It also considers issues such as economic capability and welfare cost.
www.theguardian.com/...
