The European climate agency reported last week that record global heat last year showed an overall increase of 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels–just a fraction below the 1.5-degree threshold laid out by the historic Paris Agreement on climate change.
Under the deal agreed by 193 countries in 2015 in the French capital, sticking to the limit will help humankind avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures.
This month is also on track to be so warm that for the first time ever, a 12-month cycle may exceed the 1.5°C threshold, according to Europe’s Copernicus climate agency.
Responding to the news at the regular briefing for correspondents in New York, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Secretary-General António Guterres “believes that humanity’s actions are scorching the Earth” and that last year “was a mere preview of the catastrophic future that awaits if we don’t act now.”
The UN chief said that the necessary response to record-breaking temperatures is “path-breaking action.”
“Mr. Guterres believes that leaders must commit to serious new national climate action plans” rapidly and fairly “and invest in helping vulnerable countries to combat climate chaos,”. Dujarric said.
“We can still avoid the worst of the climate catastrophe, he believes, but only if we if we act now with the ambition required to limit the rise of global temperatures to 1.5°C and deliver climate justice.” UN News