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The climate clock is ticking at a rapid pace and the numbers don’t lie. Scientists have raised their voices with a clear warning: the world is dangerously close to the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, and the clock shows just seven years to avoid it.
The Global Carbon Project presented a study at the recent United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai, revealing a worrying projection: if CO2 emissions continue to increase, we will reach this threshold in an alarmingly short period of time. Emissions from sources such as coal, gas and oil are on track to set a new record in 2023, driving a dangerous warming spiral.
China and India, giants in greenhouse gas emissions, occupy the first positions in this unwanted race. This report highlights their role as the main emitters globally, an unequivocal sign of the urgency of taking drastic measures.
At the current climate crossroads, COP28 seeks to chart a defined course towards a future without dependence on fossil fuels, the main culprits of global warming. However, the wording of the final declaration becomes a terrain of dispute, where large polluters try to stop calls for an agreement that gradually reduces their intensive use.
The Paris Agreement, that landmark climate commitment milestone in 2015, set ambitious limits: keeping temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, with an even more challenging goal of 1.5 degrees. The latter has become the key objective, given the emergence of evidence suggesting dangerous tipping points in the face of further warming.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasizes the urgent need to halve CO2 emissions this decade to respect the 1.5 degree Celsius limit. However, reality presents a discouraging panorama: emissions continue to rise, making it extremely difficult to achieve this vital objective.
Despite the encouraging growth of renewable energy, which more than 100 countries committed to tripling by 2030 during COP28, the other half of the equation is still missing: the effective reduction of fossil fuel emissions. This lack of action remains the Achilles heel in the fight against climate change.
The data revealed by the study focus attention on worrying figures. Fossil fuels contribute an overwhelming amount of CO2 emissions, with China topping this alarming list and recording a 4 percent increase in emissions this year. India is not far behind, overtaking the European Union as the third largest emitter, with an increase of more than 8 percent in its emissions.
Despite some signs of declining emissions from big players like the United States and the European Union, the unstoppable growth of emissions in these emerging nations underscores the gap between renewable energy deployment and ever-increasing energy demand.
The footprint of human activity has already warmed the Earth’s surface by 1.2 degrees Celsius, triggering a series of natural disasters that impact globally: heat waves, forest fires, floods and storms. The year 2023 has broken temperature records, an unequivocal warning that the climate clock is ticking.
The crucial question remains: are we in time to reverse this alarming trend? The window of opportunity is rapidly narrowing, and the urgency for climate action has never been more evident. The time to act is now, a call that resonates in every word of scientists and experts seeking to preserve a livable future for generations to come.
