SDG - 13 - Climate Action
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
2019 was the second warmest year on record and the end of the warmest decade (2010- 2019) ever recorded.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rose to new records in 2019.
Climate change is affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme.
Although greenhouse gas emissions are projected to drop about 6 per cent in 2020 due to travel bans and economic slowdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, this improvement is only temporary. Climate change is not on pause. Once the global economy begins to recover from the pandemic, emissions are expected to return to higher levels.
Saving lives and livelihoods requires urgent action to address both the pandemic and the climate emergency.
The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement also aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, through appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework.
- Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
- Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
- Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
- Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible.
- Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities. (Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international, intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate change).
The Climate Emergency we currently face requires adequate and immediate action. It is one of the most pervasive and threatening crises of our time.
We are facing an existential threat and rapid prioritization of attention and action is necessary. If we continue along our current path, scientists say that the consequences will be devastating, having implications on where we live, how we grow food and other services vital to our well-being. A 2°C increase could mean more heat waves, a ten-fold increase in Arctic ice-free summers and a complete wipe-out of the world's coral reefs, home to millions of species.
Our work on climate action cuts across the fields of science, policy, technology and finance. We empower countries to pursue low-emission development and boost their capacity to adapt and be resilient to climate heating. We are also working to implement the Paris Agreement, the world’s roadmap for tackling climate change. Our contributions include bringing science to policymakers, playing a leading role in transformative global partnerships, and helping dozens of countries develop national plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions. We equip countries to seize new investment opportunities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. And we support the development of new finance models to accelerate the transition to a green economy.
10 Reasons Why is Climate Action Important!
1. BECAUSE SNOW LEOPARDS, TURTLES AND POLAR BEARS ARE AWESOME
Climate change will mean big changes for animals around the world. So, if we care about incredible species, we must care about how a changing climate will make it harder for them to find food and decrease their habitats – from forest to sea ice to the UK’s rivers and chalk streams.
If you’re one of those people who need a coffee hit to get going, mornings may become grim. The effects of climate change on coffee are well-documented and coffee producers are already seeing reduced harvests, and more pests, because of it. Even if you’re caffeine-free you’re not in the clear – wine production may also be hit.
3. BECAUSE CORAL REEFS ARE AMAZING
Finding Nemo or Dory may become harder as their beautiful homes crumble under the stress of our changing climate. Warmer air and ocean temperatures cause coral bleaching, where corals lose their colour and may die. Ocean acidification – from increased CO2 in the atmosphere – compounds the problem. Today, the ocean is 26% more acidic than it was in 1990, and the Great Barrier Reef has just experienced unprecedented back-to-back bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. Climate change is very bad news for anyone hoping to see the Great Barrier Reef one day.
4. BECAUSE WE ALL NEED CLEAN WATER
Did you know that 2 in every 3 people worldwide live in regions of severe water scarcity? Even a small increase in global temperatures will destabilize the water cycle and could make water scarcity much worse. Climate change affects rainfall patterns, meaning both drought and flooding will be more common, and more intense. And although it’s hardly comparable with life-threatening floods, climate change may already be making you late for work.
5. BECAUSE WE ALL HATE THE SIGHT OF POLITICIANS IN WELLIES
Globally temperature records have been broken in recent years, and flooding in the UK gets worse. Year after year we’ve seen politicians wading through floods in Somerset, hopping into dinghies in Cornwall and arguing with each other in Westminster. More frequent and more intense extreme weather is a documented result of our greenhouse gas emissions, and the annual cost of flooding in the UK could increase 15-fold by the 2080s. We need to see politicians taking serious action on reducing the UK's carbon footprint, not looking for the next photo opportunity.
6. BECAUSE RAINFORESTS ARE INCREDIBLE
Unique, irreplaceable, and often described as ‘the world’s lungs’, rainforests are some of the most precious habitats on the planet. They really are amazing; the Amazon, for example, is home to an astonishing 1 in 10 of all the known species on Earth. Yet over a third of the Amazon rainforest is already threatened by climate change. It’s a double-edged sword too: worldwide, forest destruction – mainly for agriculture – is a major cause of climate change, generating an incredible amount of greenhouse gases.
7. BECAUSE WE ALL DESERVE TO BREATHE CLEAN AIR
With increasing carbon emissions, it stands to reason that we face compromised air quality. This affects human health, especially children. Air pollution can lead to asthma, heart and lung disease. Beijing’s insidious smog is a visible reminder of this, but bad air quality is also making headlines in the UK and has been labelled a ‘public health emergency’ by MPs.
8. BECAUSE CLEAN TECH IS EXCITING
It’s not all bad news. Some of the biggest advancements in technology over the past few years have come from trying to limit, and come up with alternatives to, humanity’s CO2 dependency. Solar panels, wave-energy conversion and wind farms are allowing us to harness the power of nature in a clean way, harvesting energy without harming our environment or destroying habitats. Meanwhile nifty gadgets – like the Wall-E sized robot that can insulate your house to save energy – are helping to cut carbon in unexpected places. More of this technology could mean a cleaner, healthier future for us and our planet – because clean tech doesn’t just help nature, it also has the potential to build better, more accessible and people-friendly cities.
9. BECAUSE WE ARE ALL AFFECTED, NO MATTER WHERE IN THE WORLD WE LIVE
Climate change won’t just impact forest, or coral reefs, or even people in far-off countries – it will affect all of us. From more extreme weather to increasing food prices, to recreation and decreased opportunities to appreciate the natural world, people everywhere will feel its effects. Reducing our carbon footprint is fundamentally necessary to create a world where people and nature thrive – and that’s why WWF is working on it.
10. BECAUSE OF FUTURE GENERATIONS
We are fortunate to live in a beautiful, diverse, nurturing, awe-inspiring planet. Our children, and all future generations, deserve the same.
If you’re feeling worried by now, you’re not alone. Millions of people are working together for our planet. Events like Earth Hour are a brilliant reminder that together, humanity is capable of great things, and we can make change happen for the right reasons.
Already, so much has changed since we first heard about the possible effect of climate change. Beginning with the Rio Earth Summit, then the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, action on a global scale is speeding up. Now it is more important than ever that we use our action, our votes and our voices to tell political and business leaders that action on climate is absolutely essential.
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