Look beyond COP26 summit to real world for climate action, says top UK scientist

(Eco Business, 11 Nov 2021) Real action to stem potentially "unmanageable" climate threats is coming from outside the UN climate change negotiations, says David King.

When scientist David King looks at the dramatic climate shifts already emerging around the world — from sweltering North Pole summer heat to deadly flooding — he thinks any deal reached at the UN climate talks this week may be “too little, too late”.

The conference’s overarching aim is to “keep 1.5 alive” — a reference to the Paris Agreement goal to pursue efforts to limit average global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times.

But that “isn’t happening”, said King, Britain’s former chief scientist and special representative for climate change.

National emissions-cutting plans submitted ahead of the talks are nowhere near in line with what scientists say is needed, he noted.

A leading tracker for national climate policies this week said the world will hit 2.4 degrees Celsius of warming this century under the current plans — if they are fulfilled.

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Eco Business, 11 Nov 2021: Look beyond COP26 summit to real world for climate action, says top UK scientist