A new report from the United Nations has found that unless action is taken, governments can not maintain that there will be a livable future for everyone on Earth, and the chance to make changes is slipping away.
The report comes from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and it has examined a large amount of data and research on global warming, which has been compiled since the Paris climate accord was signed in 2015.
The report was delayed over the weekend, as governments were not able to come to an agreement on the contents of its findings on Friday, as larger and smaller nations went back and forth on things like emissions goals and aid for vulnerable nations, according to The Associated Press. The discussions took place in Interlaken, Switzerland.
However, on Sunday, a summary of the report was finally approved, and now, it has been released by the panel.
Contributing to the report are more than 93 of the world’s top scientists and experts on climate change, and while countries signing off on a scientific report is not typical, it is being done to ensure governments accept the findings as authoritative advice.
“There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all,” the report’s authors wrote.
The message from the report is bleak, but it does share that there is hope to reverse the effects of climate change. The report says the world already has the technology needed to keep harmful emissions at bay, saying there is a path to a more sustainable world, and a stable climate.
IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee shared a statement on the report, noting that it “shows that, if we act now, we can still secure a liveable sustainable future for all.”
“Mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce losses and damages for nature and people, it will also provide wider benefits,” Lee said.
The initial goal of the Paris climate agreement was to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the report found that while there is still a chance, the goal may now be out of reach.
Overall the report doesn’t provide any new information or findings, but rather it looks to give an overview of recent climate science, tallies global warming’s impact, and gives policymakers a guide on how they should make changes within their own governments and nations.
According to the report, if the world were to limit the world’s warming temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the world would need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half before the decade ends.
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