UN chief warns climate time bomb is ticking, urges action

In this photo taken on March 15, 2023, smoke billows from a brick factory chimney on the outskirts of Prayagraj, India. PHOTO AFP UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the climate time bomb is ticking and urged rich nations on Monday to slash emissions sooner after a new assessment from scientists said there was little time to lose in tackling climate change.

The temperature increase in the last half century is the highest in 2,000 years, he said. Carbon dioxide concentrations are at their highest level in at least 2 million years. The time-bomb is ticking. Guterres called the sixth synthesis report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC as a survival guide for humanity and urged developed countries to commit to zero emissions by the end of 2040, according to a recorded address by Guterres.

A synthesis report summarized findings from three expert assessments published between 2021 and 2022 that looked at the physical science, impacts, and mitigation of climate change. The summary report is intended to provide clarity for policymakers as they consider further action to slash emissions.

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We have the tools to reduce the risks of the climate crisis, but we must take advantage of this moment to act," said John Kerry, US climate envoy.

The 37-sided report was distilled from thousands of pages of previous assessments after a week of deliberations in Interlaken, Switzerland.

The document will serve as a guide for a global climate change stocktake set to take place this year, in which countries will assess progress. The Paris Agreement will update its climate pledges by 2025, and nations are expected to update their pledges by the year 2025.

According to the IPCC, emissions must be halved by the mid- 2030s if the world wants to have a chance of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius 2.7 Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels - a key target in the Paris accord.

The IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee said if we act now, we can still secure a sustainable future for all.

The planet is on track to warm by 3.2 C by the end of century's end, and temperatures could still rise by at least 2.2 C even if existing pledges are met.

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There are more extreme weather events in the world due to the fact that average temperatures are already 1.1 C higher than 1850 -- 1900 levels.

In the words of very senior colleagues in the IPCC, we're up the proverbial creek - that is the key message from the report, said synthesis report co-author Frank Jotzo of Australian National University.

There were major areas of contention that included the language around finance and the projected impacts of climate change, as well as the issue of equity and climate justice for poorer countries.

Some governments wanted to give more prominence to their favored climate solutions, including solar power or carbon capture.

If the world is going to make necessary cuts in emissions, the IPCC says it needs to accelerate the transition to green energy and transform agriculture and eating habits.

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It warned of more extreme weather, rapidly rising sea levels, melting Arctic ice and the growing likelihood of catastrophic and irreversible tipping points. It also said nearly half of the world's population was already vulnerable to climate impacts.

Guterres said that our world needs climate action on all fronts, and that means everything, everywhere, at once.