Fri 05 November 2021 View all news

A new synthesis of the latest climate-related research from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and partners sends a stark warning to participants at COP26 that global emissions of CO₂ are set to rise nearly 5% in 2021 after a pandemic-induced fall of 5.4% in 2020.

The report - '10 New Insights in Climate Science' - has been released by the WMO co-sponsored World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), Future Earth and the Earth League.

The analysis updates the remaining carbon budgets based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report and projects that if CO2 emissions were to remain at 2021 levels, it will take just 11 years to pass 1.5°C of heating, and 32 years to 2°C.

The report was released at COP26, reinforcing the need for much more urgent and ambitious climate action.

The '10 Insights' is based on an assessment made by more than 60 world-leading academic experts, with a 'scoping process' that reaches several thousands of scientists working on fields related to climate change. Since 2017 the reports has been launched annually at COP. UNESCO's International Oceanographic Commission and the International Science Council also co-sponsor WCRP.

The analysis highlights the following 10 Insights:

  • Stabilizing at 1.5°C warming is still possible, but immediate and drastic global action is required
  • Rapid growth in methane and nitrous oxide emissions put us on track for 2.7°C warming
  • Megafires – Climate change forces fire extremes to reach new dimensions with extreme impacts
  • Climate tipping elements incur high-impact risks
  • Global climate action must be just
  • Supporting household behaviour changes is a crucial but often overlooked opportunity for climate action
  • Political challenges impede effectiveness of carbon pricing
  • Nature-based solutions are critical for the pathway to Paris – but look at the fine print
  • Building resilience of marine ecosystems is achievable by climate-adapted conservation and management, and global stewardship
  • Costs of climate change mitigation can be justified by the multiple immediate benefits to the health of humans and nature

 

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