The @WMO report and subsequent headlines about the world being about to hit 1.5˚C warning are very concerning and a clear danger sign that we are running out of time for action to reduce emissions. BUT...
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While it doesn't mean we have busted the Paris agreement 1.5° limit - because measuring climate involves a 20-year average - it does mean we're getting closer.
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A large El Niño projected for later this year would roll the dice further for 2024, as do predictions for this rolling into a super El Niño for 2024.
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If climate action is ramped up, and the world makes the required emission reductions by 2030 we still have a reasonable chance of limiting warming to 1.5˚C.
We still know what we have to do and we can still achieve this.
The window remains open. But tight.
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The #ParisAgreement temp goal references human-made warming averaged over 20-30 years, not changes in individual months, seasons, years – not even over a couple of years.
Temp change measured over shorter timeframes becomes subject to shorter-term influences, such as El Niño.
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This is why climate science in general, and IPCC reports in particular, assesses human-made long-term temperature change by averaging global mean temperature over periods of at least 20 years – avoiding the influence of these year-to-year natural variations.
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But it's a very clear warning sign we’re getting towards very dangerous levels of warming. Looking around the world, we’ve seen temp records broken in Southeast Asia by large margins, massive heat & humidity in east Asia, & Eastern India, now moving toPakistan & west India
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In Canada, we're seeing astonishing temperatures & massive bushfires in Alberta.
In Europe, particularly SW Europe & the Iberian peninsula, there's an unprecedented drought unfold, in part due to circulation changes associated with global warming
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But more worringly, there could be a significant component of the warming and drought in the Iberian peninsula due to a slowdown in North Atlantic circulation, forced by warming. @rahmstorf explains here:
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So to repeat: a single year with warming at 1.5° does not mean the climate has “breached” the 1.5˚C warming limit.
But it is a clear danger sign, and one the leaders at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima might be wise to heed.
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And remember, as @PeteBetts has said, “if we do go above 1.5C, the message is not to give up. It’s to double down. The scientific and economic case is overwhelming…”
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NEW report: Many gov's and companies present fossil gas as a "bridging fuel" on the way to a renewables based electricity sector.
We've tested this claim: to limit #globalwarming to 1.5°C, fossil gas must exit the global power system by 2040, very soon after #coal.
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Globally, fossil gas electricity generation should start declining immediately, falling to just 15% of total electricity generation by 2030 & 10% by 2035.
Rich countries must move first.
Developing countries will need support to shift to renewable energy systems at pace. 2/6
The report phase-out dates are averages at the regional level. Meaning, it can be earlier if a country already has little or no gas in the electricity system. For those countries highly reliant on fossil gas power generation, the phase-out has to be a little later.
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As #Australia reels from unprecedented bushfires, the disconnect between its vulnerability to #climate change and the inadequacy of its government's response is coming under international scrutiny.
We have produced a mountain of research on this -
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1/ #Australia is on fire due in large part to #climate change yet the government is looking for ways to weaken the Paris Agreement by using 40 y. o. Kyoto protocol credits to meet its 2030 targets. We show there's no legal basis for this bit.ly/Aus_KPCO@TheAusInstitute
2/ Our calculations show just how bad using Kyoto carryover units to meet #ParisAgreement commitments would be for #climate action: an extra 0.1˚C of warming that wld not otherwise hv occurred due to delays in energy & economic system transformation bit.ly/Art6_KPCO