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‘Time Running Out’ to Stop Rising CO2 Levels as Average Hits New high — UN
Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have crossed a new threshold, the United Nation’s weather agency on 26 May 2014 confirmed*, warning that time is running out to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Photo: UNEP
In April, monthly concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere topped 400 parts per million (ppm) throughout the northern hemisphere, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported.
“This threshold is of symbolic and scientific significance and reinforces evidence that the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities are responsible for the continuing increase in heat-trapping greenhouse gases warming our planet,” the WMO continued. CO2 levels first reached 400 ppm in April 2012, but this is the first time the monthly average passed the threshold.
The agency predicts the global annual average CO2 concentration will cross this threshold in 2015 or 2016. “Time is running out,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said in the statement.
Urgent Action Needed to Save Our Planet
“This should serve as yet another wake-up call about the constantly rising levels of greenhouse gases which are driving climate change. If we are to preserve our planet for future generations, we need urgent action to curb new emissions of these heat-trapping gases.”
The UN is leading the effort towards an international, legally binding climate agreement by the end of next year. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is convening a climate summit on 23 September with leaders from Governments, businesses and civil society to raise the level of ambition, catalyze action on the ground and increase political momentum towards such an agreement.
The overall goal of these efforts is to limit the average temperature increase to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ICCC) reported in April that to keep global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius, means lowering global greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 70 percent compared with 2010 by mid-century, and to near-zero by the end of this century. (*Source: UN Release).
Impact Already Occurring in All Continents
The effects of climate change are already occurring in all continents and across the oceans, and the world, for the most part, is ill-prepared for their risks, said a United Nations report issued on On 31 March 2014 , which also warns that while action can be taken, managing the phenomenon’s impacts will be difficult on a rapidly warming planet**.
The report, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, from Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), details the impacts of climate change to date, the future risks from a changing climate, and the opportunities for effective action to reduce risks. The survey was released earlier today in Yokohama, Japan.
The report, the Nobel-Prize winning’s IPCC’s fifth such assessment, concludes that responding to climate change involves making choices about risks in a changing world. The nature of the risks of climate change is increasingly clear, though the phenomenon will also continue to produce surprises.
Vulnerable People, Industries, Ecosystems…
It identifies vulnerable people, industries, and ecosystems around the world and finds that risk from a changing climate comes from vulnerability (lack of preparedness) and exposure (people or assets in harm’s way) overlapping with hazards (triggering climate events or trends).
Welcoming the IPCC’s findings, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the report confirms that the effects of human-caused climate change are already widespread and consequential, affecting agriculture, human health, ecosystems on land and in the oceans, water supplies, and some industries.
“To reduce these risks, substantial reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions must be made, along with smart strategies and actions to improve disaster preparedness and reduce exposure to events caused by climate change,” Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson in New York.
Climate Change Summit Next September
The UN chief urged all countries to act swiftly and boldly at every level, to bring ambitious announcements and actions to the climate summit he will convene on 23 September, and to make every effort needed to reach a global legal climate agreement by 2015.
During a press conference in Yokohama, IPCC Chairperson Rajendra K. Pachauri said: “In view of the impacts [presented in the report] and those that we have projected for the future, we know that nobody on the planet will be untouched by climate change.”
He cited shrinking glaciers, species migration, dwindling crop yields, rise in vector-borne diseases, and the increase in extreme events as clear evidence of the need for the international community to make better adaptation and mitigation choices, which is the only way to manage the risks of climate change.
“The world has to take this report seriously because there are implications for security of food supply, impacts of extreme events on morbidity and mortality, severe and irreversible impacts on species, and a risk of crossing various tipping points because of increasing temperatures,” said Mr. Pachauri, explaining that those impacts also affect human security, in that climate change could spark mass population displacement or increased conflict.
A total of 309 coordinating lead authors, lead authors and review editors, drawn from 70 countries, were selected to produce the report. They enlisted the help of 436 contributing authors, and a total of 1,729 expert and government reviewers.
Man-made
“We live in an era of man-made climate change,” said Vicente Barros, Co-Chair of Working Group II. “In many cases, we are not prepared for the climate-related risks that we already face. Investments in better preparation can pay dividends both for the present and for the future.”
The report says, “People who are socially, economically, culturally, politically, institutionally, or otherwise marginalized are especially vulnerable to climate change and also to some adaptation and mitigation responses.”
Observed impacts of climate change have already affected agriculture, human health, ecosystems on land and in the oceans, water supplies, and some people’s livelihoods. The striking feature of observed impacts is that they are occurring from the tropics to the poles, from small islands to large continents, and from the wealthiest countries to the poorest.
“Adaptation can play a key role in decreasing these risks,” Barros noted. “Part of the reason adaptation is so important is that the world faces a host of risks from climate change already baked into the climate system, due to past emissions and existing infrastructure,” said Barros.
The IPCC is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. (**Source: UN Release).
Read also:
Climate Change Impacting Entire Planet, Raising Risk of Hunger, Floods, Conflict – UN Report
‘Majestic’ Greenland Provides First-hand Look at Impacts of Human-induced Climate Change
Clean Energy, Water Strategies to Halt ‘Runaway’ Climate Change – Experts
The ‘Future We Want’, Nowhere to Be Found in Rio+20
Demand for Life’s Essentials: 50% More Food, 40% More Energy and… 35% More Water
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Climate: Huge Mirrors in Space, Petrifying Carbon Dioxide, Algae Farms, Lots of White Paint!
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World’s Oceans Depleted, Destroyed … Killed
Food Inequality Equation: 1.5 Billion Obese; 925 Million Hungry
Voracious Consumption Save The Planet? Just Eat Cars, Drink Fuel!
Be Prepared to Face Water Shocks!
Big Business Stealing Seeds, Devouring Life Cycle
2014 Human Wrongs Watch
Filed under: Africa 
Source: http://baherkamaleng.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/24874/
