Sharma in start warning over consequences of failing to tackle climate change
7th August 2021 | Commercial Energy
The UK’s climate chief said humans were ‘dangerously close’ to running out of time to avert catastrophic levels of warming. The world is getting “dangerously close” to running out of time to avert catastrophic climate change, Cop26 President Alok Sharma has said.
Mr Sharma – who is tasked with making a success of the upcoming climate talks in Glasgow – said failing to limit warming to 1.5C would be “catastrophic”. In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Sharma said a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, due to be published on Monday, would be the “starkest warning yet” about what the future could hold.
“You’re seeing on a daily basis what is happening across the world. Last year was the hottest on record, the last decade the hottest decade on record,” he said. He said Cop26 “has to be the moment we get this right”, adding: “We can’t afford to wait two years, five years, 10 years – this is the moment. I don’t think we’re out of time but I think we’re getting dangerously close to when we might be out of time,” Mr Sharma said.
“We will see (from the IPCC report) a very, very clear warning that unless we act now, we will unfortunately be out of time.” He added: “Every fraction of a degree rise makes a difference and that’s why countries have to act now. We’re seeing the impacts across the world – in the UK or the terrible flooding we’ve seen across Europe and China, or forest fires, the record temperatures that we’ve seen in North America,” he said.
“Every day you will see a new high being recorded in one way or another across the world.”
But despite his powerful warnings, Mr Sharma refused to condemn plans for a new oilfield off the coast of Shetland, that could see a further 150 to 170 million barrels extracted.
The Cambo oilfield could be approved before Glasgow, and potentially be in operation as far into the future as 2050. Elsewhere, the Government has refused to rule out new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea or a new coal mine in Cumbria.
The International Energy Agency said in May there must be no new investment in oil and gas projects and coal power plants from this year to have a hope of limiting warming to 1.5C.
But Mr Sharma refused to criticise the UK Government’s plans for further fossil fuel extraction, saying: “Future [fossil fuel] licences are going to have to adhere to the fact we have committed to go to net zero by 2050 in legislation.”
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https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2021/08/07/sharma-in-stark-warning-over-consequences-of-failing-to-tackle-climate-change/