Editorial: Between life and death

Accelerated action is critical to closing the gap between existing adaptations and what is needed

Hyderabad: There is no Plan(et) B option. The choice between survival and extinction. This is effectively a “now or never” situation as humanity faces unprecedented impacts from climate change. The crisis can no longer be ignored, and the world can no longer continue bickering over funding and technology transfers. The latest report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) analyzes the extent of the climate crisis following an eight-year global effort, offering dire warnings of catastrophic consequences from global warming and sweeping recommendations to ease suffering action plan. In order to limit global warming to the 1.5°C threshold level, the next few years will be critical, as greenhouse gas emissions must be cut by almost half and methane emissions by a third within this decade. Nations, governments and societies must do everything they can to ensure policy, infrastructure and technology change to ensure a liveable future. The IPCC 2023 report reads like a string of climate pledges broken by countries; developed and developing. Earth is already 1.1ºC warmer than pre-industrial levels. As this relentless warming continues, the planet will witness frequent and intense extreme weather events, disrupting the lives of billions of people around the globe. Climate scientists have highlighted the fact that emissions must halve this decade in order to limit global temperatures to below 1.5ºC this century.

Almost half of the world’s population lives in areas highly vulnerable to climate change. Floods, droughts and storms have killed 15 times more in highly vulnerable areas over the past decade. The solution lies in climate-adaptive development. This involves combining adaptation measures with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions to provide broader benefits. Rich countries have failed to deliver on promises to compensate poor and vulnerable countries and transfer modern technology to tackle the climate crisis. Countries most vulnerable to climate change do feel hurt that their concerns are not being addressed. In fact, the greenhouse gas footprint of developing countries is negligible. In this context, climate justice is critical, as those who contribute least to climate change are disproportionately affected. Delays in mitigation plans will disproportionately affect countries like India, where millions of people live in vulnerable areas. United Nations scientists have predicted dire scenarios for flooding and food insecurity due to rising sea levels, depleted groundwater and extreme weather patterns. Accelerating action to adapt to climate change is critical to closing the gap between existing adaptation and what is needed. At the same time, limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels will require rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors.