Climate Action

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

[New] The transition to electric vehicles would help avoid the worst impacts of climate change, with avoided climate impacts valued at up to $113 billion in 2050.
[New] Ambitious action to tackle climate change could create millions of extra jobs, aiding Europe's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
[New] Already well on the way to meeting its current climate target of a 40% cut by 2030, the EU wants to set a more ambitious near-term target in order to achieve its flagship goal of net zero emissions by 2050 and cement its status as a global leader in efforts to curb catastrophic climate change.
[New] In the next 30 years the effects of climate change could induce up to 30 million Central American migrants to head for the United States.
[New] To avoid the worst effects of climate change, the United States must adopt aggressive policies to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from the mobile sector by 2050.
[New] As part of the European Green Deal, new targets are being suggested based on the above-mentioned scenarios: the European Commission has set an aspirational target of 90% reduction in transport emissions by 2050 in order to achieve overall climate neutrality.
[New] Last year Luxembourg launched a 10-step framework to implement the United Nations' 17 sustainable development goals and drafted a climate law to cut greenhouse emissions by 55% until 2030.
[New] By aiming for net zero carbon by 2050, Battery Park City is aligning itself with New York State efforts and other global leaders, committing to prioritize climate action.
[New] The European Green Deal and the proposed European Climate Law reinforce the EU's goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, meaning that the EU will emit no more greenhouse gases than it removes from the air (for example through reforestation).
[New] Preserving the Amazon rainforest is of global importance in the fight against climate change, but it is under threat from forest fires, mostly started to clear land for agriculture.
[New] The Decade will offer a unique opportunity for the private sector and science to work together to increase ocean knowledge and shape it into sustainable solutions for society's 21st Century challenges, from climate change to food security.
[New] While significant coal and nuclear capacity will be phased out in the EU in the next decade, natural gas will play a critical role in the energy transition towards climate neutrality and ensuring baseload capacity in the EU's energy mix.
The EU wants to upgrade its 2030 emissions-cutting target, to steer its economy towards becoming climate neutral by 2050, and lead global efforts to curb emissions at a rate that would avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
The IEA's Sustainable Development Scenario - a roadmap for meeting international climate and energy goals - brings the global energy system to net-zero emissions by 2070, incorporating aspects of behavioural change alongside a profound transformation in energy system technology and infrastructure.
Only 13% of natural gas used globally in 2050 will be stripped of carbon dioxide, posing a major challenge in reaching the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
Mass loss caused by melt-water and crumbling ice from 2007 to 2017 aligned with the most extreme forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), which see the two ice sheets adding up to 40 centimeters to global oceans by 2100.
Increased demand would see the carbon pollution from plastic double to around 3.5 billion tonnes by 2050, despite targets to cut global emissions to zero to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Mass loss from 2007 to 2017 due to melt-water and crumbling ice aligned almost perfectly with the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change's (IPCC) most extreme forecasts, which see the two ice sheets adding up to 40 centimetres to global oceans by 2100.
Already fragile, water security in the Pacific will be weakened further by the impacts of climate change, with rainfall forecast to become less reliable over coming decades.
Limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, compared with 2 °C, could reduce the number of people both exposed to climate - related risks and susceptible to poverty by up to several hundred million by 2050.
The European Commission suggests the development of circular economy to reduce pressure on natural resources, stop the biodiversity loss, and reach the climate-neutrality targeted by 2050.
2020 has seen unprecedented forced disruption from a global pandemic, the exit of the UK from the European Union, global political movements and an even stronger spotlight on climate change.

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Last updated: 20 September 2020