The world is on pace to warm by as much as 2.9 C by the end of the century, nearly double the international target agreed upon less than a decade ago, a new United Nations report says.
The Emissions Gap report, released this morning, says maintaining the goal of limiting warming to the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels hinges on a rapid transformation away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy.
“The longer we wait, the harder it’s going to be,” Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, which released the report, said at an online news conference.
“There is no person or economy left on the planet untouched by climate change, so we need to stop setting unwanted records on greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature highs and extreme weather.”
The 108-page UN report is the latest in a flurry of research released ahead of the climate talks, known as COP28, scheduled to begin next week in Dubai.
A report released last week in the Lancet medical journal warned of increases in food insecurity and heat-related deaths if temperatures rise by 2 C by the end of the century. A week earlier, another report found that top fossil fuel-producing countries, including Canada, are on pace to extract more oil and gas than would be consistent with agreed-upon international targets.
The world, meanwhile, is on track for its hottest year on record. Last month was the hottest October on record — marking the fifth consecutive month of record temperatures globally, according to Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Urgent transformation needed, report says
The latest findings from the UN underscore the need for urgent action at COP28, said Taryn Fransen, one of the report’s authors and scientific director of the climate program at the Washington D.C.-based World Resources Institute.
“If countries achieve their most ambitious targets — cutting net emissions to zero by around 2050 — we can hold warming to even 2 C, but the trouble is, most countries haven’t yet underpinned those targets with legislation and implementation plans that will be needed to drive down emissions,” Fransen said in an email to CBC News.
To be successful, countries will need to make commitments to “transform numerous sectors at a pace and depth not seen before, such as rapidly and equitably shifting away from fossil fuels,” she said.
The UN report found global greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.2 per cent from 2021 to 2022 to reach a new record last year.
According to the report, current and planned coal, oil and gas projects would emit more than 3.5 times the carbon than what would be required to limit warming to 1.5 C.
In percentage terms, the report said the world needs to cut 2030 emissions by 28 per cent to get on track to limit warming to 2 C. To reach the 1.5 target, emissions would need to be cut by 42 per cent.
Global fossil fuel demand will peak before 2030, report says
Featured VideoGlobal demand for fossil fuels will peak before 2030, according to the International Energy Agency’s annual World Energy Outlook. Environmentalists say Canada lags in renewable energy investment and risks being left behind.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said the “emissions gap is more like an emissions canyon — a canyon littered with broken promises, broken lives and broken records.”
“We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality. And we know how to get there,” he said at a briefing.
“It requires tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. And it demands a just, equitable renewables transition.”
Onus on wealthy countries
The report said wealthy countries, including Canada, “will need to take more ambitious and rapid action and provide financial and technical support to developing nations.”
An audit of Canada’s climate policy found that, under its current plan, the country falls short of hitting the next greenhouse gas reduction target in 2030 by several million tonnes.
The upcoming global climate talks, known as COP28, are scheduled to begin next week in Dubai, U.A.E. (Jon Gambrell/The Associated Press)
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has said that the federal government needs to do more to reduce emissions, with regulations expected by the end of the year to cap emissions on oil and gas production.
Fransen said Canada “needs to double down in order to meet the goals it has set for itself, pull its fair share globally,” and further increase incentives for renewables.
Overall, Fransen warned that a warming of 3 C poses “grave risks for human and natural systems.”
“Concretely, this looks like increased storm damage, crop failure, fisheries collapse, disease spread, and air pollution, among other impacts,” she said.
MONTREAL – One expert says entry-level pay under the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement.
Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage increase starting in year five.
The Air Line Pilots Association had been pushing to scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision entirely.
But according to a copy of the contract summary obtained by The Canadian Press, the proposed deal announced Sunday would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says as many as 2,000 of Air Canada’s roughly 5,200 active pilots may earn entry-level wages following a recent hiring surge.
After the airline averted a strike this week, Gradek says the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal, which is up for a vote next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
ROME (AP) — Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci, the Italy striker who was top scorer at its home World Cup in 1990, has died. He was 59.
Schillaci had been hospitalized in Palermo following treatment for colon cancer.
The Palermo Civico hospital said in a statement that Schillacci died on Wednesday morning after being admitted 11 days ago.
Schillaci scored six goals for Italy during the 1990 World Cup. He came on as a substitute during Italy’s opener against Austria, scored in a 1-0 victory, and went on to earn the Golden Boot awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. He only scored one other goal for Italy in his career.
Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina announced that a minute of silence would be held in memory of Schillaci before all games in the country for the rest of the week.
“The uncontrollable celebrations, in which his face was the symbol of shared joy, will remain forever part of Italian soccer (history),” Gravina said. “Totò was a great player, a symbol of tenacious desire and redemption. … His soccer was full of passion. And that fearless spirit made everyone appreciate him and will make him immortal.”
Schillaci also won the Golden Ball award at the 1990 World Cup as the tournament’s top player ahead of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.
Schillaci played for Messina, Juventus, Inter Milan and Japanese team Jubilo Iwata during his club career.
“You made an entire nation dream during the Magical Nights of Italia ’90,” Inter said on its social media channels.
West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, beating Argentina in the final, while Italy beat England for third place with a winning penalty kick from Schillaci.
Roberto Baggio, who scored Italy’s opening goal in the third-place match, wrote on Instagram, “Ciao my dear friend.”
Having been born and raised in Palermo, the Palermo soccer team announced that it would hold a public viewing of Schillaci at its Renzo Barbera stadium ahead of the funeral, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
French soccer player Wissam Ben Yedder will stay free ahead of his trial on charges of sexual assault while intoxicated, one of his lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Marie Roumiantseva said Ben Yedder will remain under strict judicial supervision after a woman filed a lawsuit for sexual assault earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Ben Yedder, a prolific striker in the French league, was briefly detained then released after the alleged incident in his car on the French Riviera. Ben Yedder had been stopped by police after he first refused to do so. He was then put in a jail cell.
After he was summoned to appear in court on Oct. 15 and placed under judicial supervision, the Nice prosecutor’s office appealed the decision not to remand the player in custody. The investigative chamber of the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence did not grant this request and kept Ben Yedder under judicial supervision.
Ben Yedder attended a hearing Tuesday during which he offered to go to rehab. He has admitted he drove while under the influence of alcohol but has denied any sexual assault.
In a separate legal case last year, Ben Yedder was charged with “rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” over another alleged incident in the south of France.
Ben Yedder has been without a club since his contract with Monaco expired at the end of last season.
