Climate Report Warns World Is Close to Last Chance

2023-03-21

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1
  • A group of United Nations scientists warned Monday that humanity is close to its last chance to prevent the worst of climate change.
  • 2
  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the world will need to cut carbon pollution and fossil fuel use by nearly two-thirds by the year 2035.
  • 3
  • The scientists called for an end to new fossil fuel exploration.
  • 4
  • And they urged countries to stop using coal, oil and gas by 2040.
  • 5
  • "Humanity is on thin ice - and that ice is melting fast," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
  • 6
  • "Our world needs climate action on all fronts - everything, everywhere, all at once."
  • 7
  • Guterres not only called for "no new coal" but also called for ending its use in rich countries by 2030 and in poor countries by 2040.
  • 8
  • He called for carbon-free electricity generation in the developed world by 2035.
  • 9
  • That is the year that nations have to come up with goals for pollution reduction under the Paris climate agreement.
  • 10
  • The 2015 Paris climate agreement set a goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.
  • 11
  • But the world has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius.
  • 12
  • The scientists told the Associated Press that this is likely the last warning they will be able to make about the 1.5-degree mark.
  • 13
  • They added their next reports will likely come after Earth has either passed the 1.5 mark or is on its way to passing it soon.
  • 14
  • Many scientists say hitting 1.5 degrees is inevitable -- or sure to happen.
  • 15
  • "We are pretty much locked into 1.5," said Malte Meinshausen, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia.
  • 16
  • But the concern, he added, is whether the temperature keeps rising from there.
  • 17
  • After 1.5 degrees "the risks are starting to pile on," said report co-writer Francis X. Johnson.
  • 18
  • He is a climate, land and policy scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute.
  • 19
  • The IPCC's latest report said the risks include loss of species and coral reefs, irreversible melting of ice sheets, and several meters of rising sea levels.
  • 20
  • The scientists said that to stay under the warming limit, the world needs to cut 60 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, compared with 2019 levels.
  • 21
  • That is a new target not included in the six reports issued since 2018.
  • 22
  • "We are not on the right track but it's not too late," said report co-writer and water scientist Aditi Mukherji.
  • 23
  • An earlier IPCC report detailed how the harms would be much worse if the planet experiences more than 1.5 degrees of warming.
  • 24
  • In the new report, scientists say continuing the use of fossil fuel to power existing or proposed infrastructure will warm the Earth at least 2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.
  • 25
  • Dipak Dasgupta is a co-writer of the report and a climate economist at The Energy and Resources Institute in India.
  • 26
  • He said because the report is based on data from a few years ago, the measurements about fossil fuel projects do not include the increase in coal and natural gas use following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
  • 27
  • Hoesung Lee is the IPCC chief scientist.
  • 28
  • He said the report contains "a message of hope in addition to those various scientific findings."
  • 29
  • Lee said, "It's up to each government to find the best solution."
  • 30
  • "The possibility is still there," Lee said.
  • 31
  • I'm Ashley Thompson.
  • 1
  • A group of United Nations scientists warned Monday that humanity is close to its last chance to prevent the worst of climate change.
  • 2
  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the world will need to cut carbon pollution and fossil fuel use by nearly two-thirds by the year 2035. The scientists called for an end to new fossil fuel exploration. And they urged countries to stop using coal, oil and gas by 2040.
  • 3
  • "Humanity is on thin ice - and that ice is melting fast," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. "Our world needs climate action on all fronts - everything, everywhere, all at once."
  • 4
  • Guterres not only called for "no new coal" but also called for ending its use in rich countries by 2030 and in poor countries by 2040. He called for carbon-free electricity generation in the developed world by 2035. That is the year that nations have to come up with goals for pollution reduction under the Paris climate agreement.
  • 5
  • Exceeding Paris agreement limit
  • 6
  • The 2015 Paris climate agreement set a goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. But the world has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius.
  • 7
  • The scientists told the Associated Press that this is likely the last warning they will be able to make about the 1.5-degree mark. They added their next reports will likely come after Earth has either passed the 1.5 mark or is on its way to passing it soon.
  • 8
  • Many scientists say hitting 1.5 degrees is inevitable -- or sure to happen.
  • 9
  • "We are pretty much locked into 1.5," said Malte Meinshausen, a climate scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. But the concern, he added, is whether the temperature keeps rising from there.
  • 10
  • After 1.5 degrees "the risks are starting to pile on," said report co-writer Francis X. Johnson. He is a climate, land and policy scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute.
  • 11
  • The IPCC's latest report said the risks include loss of species and coral reefs, irreversible melting of ice sheets, and several meters of rising sea levels.
  • 12
  • The scientists said that to stay under the warming limit, the world needs to cut 60 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, compared with 2019 levels. That is a new target not included in the six reports issued since 2018.
  • 13
  • "We are not on the right track but it's not too late," said report co-writer and water scientist Aditi Mukherji.
  • 14
  • An earlier IPCC report detailed how the harms would be much worse if the planet experiences more than 1.5 degrees of warming.
  • 15
  • In the new report, scientists say continuing the use of fossil fuel to power existing or proposed infrastructure will warm the Earth at least 2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.
  • 16
  • Dipak Dasgupta is a co-writer of the report and a climate economist at The Energy and Resources Institute in India. He said because the report is based on data from a few years ago, the measurements about fossil fuel projects do not include the increase in coal and natural gas use following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
  • 17
  • Hoesung Lee is the IPCC chief scientist. He said the report contains "a message of hope in addition to those various scientific findings."
  • 18
  • Lee said, "It's up to each government to find the best solution."
  • 19
  • "The possibility is still there," Lee said.
  • 20
  • I'm Ashley Thompson.
  • 21
  • Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Associated Press news reports.
  • 22
  • ____________________________________________________________________
  • 23
  • Words in This Story
  • 24
  • fossil fuel - n. fuel such as coal, oil or gas that is formed in the earth
  • 25
  • pile on - phrasal verb. add something in large amount
  • 26
  • species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar
  • 27
  • coral reef - n. a long line of coral that lies in warm, shallow water
  • 28
  • irreversible - adj. impossible to change back to previous condition or state
  • 29
  • on the right track - idiom. following a course that is likely to result in success
  • 30
  • infrastructure - n. equipment, roads and bridges that are needed for a country, area,... to function properly