UN chief calls for ban on fossil fuel ads as heat records pile up – vopbuzz
NEW YORK: Humans are as dangerous to Earth as the meteorite that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. UN chief he said on Wednesday and called for an end to this fossil fuel ads It was the hottest period on record in 12 months.
As glaciers melt and sea levels rise, dramatic climate changes begin to take a heavy toll around the world; fueling extreme weather events, floods and drought.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres called for a ban on advertising for oil, gas and coal. global warming – as global climate watchers present a series of new findings that suggest the planet is in trouble.
Guterres said, “On the climate issue, we are not dinosaurs. We are meteors. We are not just in danger. We are the danger.”
EU climate watchdog Copernicus announced that last month was the warmest May in history, marking the 12th consecutive month in which this record was broken.
Copernicus said the global average temperature between June 2023 and May 2024 was “1.63 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average,” referring to the period before human-caused greenhouse gas emissions began warming the planet.
Copernicus said that 2023 was already the hottest year with 1.48 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and pointed out that the natural weather phenomenon El Nino increased temperatures even further.
Even though El Niño is dissipating, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced that humanity has an 80 percent chance of Earth temperature exceeding 1.5°C, at least temporarily, within the next five years.
Humanity is playing with chicken climate targets WMO warned in the 2015 Paris Agreement that warming should be limited to 1.5 degrees.
The WMO noted that the chances of temporarily exceeding the limit have increased steadily since 2015, when it was estimated to be close to zero.
“To keep the 1.5 degree limit alive, global emissions need to fall by nine percent every year until 2030,” Guterres said.
However, the peak has not officially reached shore and is measured over a period of decades rather than individual years.
Although the world agreed to phase out fossil fuels at the recent COP28 talks in Dubai, a decline in emissions does not appear to be in sight any time soon.
Oil advertisements are prohibited
“The kingpins of climate chaos, the fossil fuel industry, are making record profits and feasting on trillions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies,” Guterres said.
“I urge every country to ban advertising by fossil fuel companies,” he said, comparing this to the ban of other products that are harmful to human health, such as tobacco.
“We need an off-ramp off the highway to climate hell,” he said, with signatories of the Paris Agreement expected to present new emissions targets by early 2025.
Guterres also reiterated his call for taxing fossil fuel industry profits to finance the fight against global warming, pointing in particular to “solidarity taxes on sectors such as shipping, aviation and fossil fuel extraction.”
“Even if emissions reached zero tomorrow, a recent study found that climate chaos would cost at least $38 trillion a year by 2050,” he said.
That’s more than the $2.4 trillion needed by 2030 for developing countries outside China to transition off fossil fuels and adapt to a warmer planet, UN experts estimate.
Guterres said he made his speech out of concern that the climate crisis has become “a victim of distraction” due to numerous wars and conflicts.
Without dismissing the need to resolve conflicts, he said: “We cannot allow humanity to distract us from the existential threat of all times: climate change.”
It also comes as key climate talks begin in Bonn, Germany, to pave the way for the UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan in November.
Talks need to lead to a new agreement on financial aid from rich countries to the rest of the world to meet climate goals.
As glaciers melt and sea levels rise, dramatic climate changes begin to take a heavy toll around the world; fueling extreme weather events, floods and drought.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres called for a ban on advertising for oil, gas and coal. global warming – as global climate watchers present a series of new findings that suggest the planet is in trouble.
Guterres said, “On the climate issue, we are not dinosaurs. We are meteors. We are not just in danger. We are the danger.”
EU climate watchdog Copernicus announced that last month was the warmest May in history, marking the 12th consecutive month in which this record was broken.
Copernicus said the global average temperature between June 2023 and May 2024 was “1.63 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average,” referring to the period before human-caused greenhouse gas emissions began warming the planet.
Copernicus said that 2023 was already the hottest year with 1.48 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and pointed out that the natural weather phenomenon El Nino increased temperatures even further.
Even though El Niño is dissipating, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced that humanity has an 80 percent chance of Earth temperature exceeding 1.5°C, at least temporarily, within the next five years.
Humanity is playing with chicken climate targets WMO warned in the 2015 Paris Agreement that warming should be limited to 1.5 degrees.
The WMO noted that the chances of temporarily exceeding the limit have increased steadily since 2015, when it was estimated to be close to zero.
“To keep the 1.5 degree limit alive, global emissions need to fall by nine percent every year until 2030,” Guterres said.
However, the peak has not officially reached shore and is measured over a period of decades rather than individual years.
Although the world agreed to phase out fossil fuels at the recent COP28 talks in Dubai, a decline in emissions does not appear to be in sight any time soon.
Oil advertisements are prohibited
“The kingpins of climate chaos, the fossil fuel industry, are making record profits and feasting on trillions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies,” Guterres said.
“I urge every country to ban advertising by fossil fuel companies,” he said, comparing this to the ban of other products that are harmful to human health, such as tobacco.
“We need an off-ramp off the highway to climate hell,” he said, with signatories of the Paris Agreement expected to present new emissions targets by early 2025.
Guterres also reiterated his call for taxing fossil fuel industry profits to finance the fight against global warming, pointing in particular to “solidarity taxes on sectors such as shipping, aviation and fossil fuel extraction.”
“Even if emissions reached zero tomorrow, a recent study found that climate chaos would cost at least $38 trillion a year by 2050,” he said.
That’s more than the $2.4 trillion needed by 2030 for developing countries outside China to transition off fossil fuels and adapt to a warmer planet, UN experts estimate.
Guterres said he made his speech out of concern that the climate crisis has become “a victim of distraction” due to numerous wars and conflicts.
Without dismissing the need to resolve conflicts, he said: “We cannot allow humanity to distract us from the existential threat of all times: climate change.”
It also comes as key climate talks begin in Bonn, Germany, to pave the way for the UN COP29 summit in Azerbaijan in November.
Talks need to lead to a new agreement on financial aid from rich countries to the rest of the world to meet climate goals.
