Scientists show overshooting 1.5°C will have devastating impacts on ice sheets, glaciers, permafrost and polar oceans, with deadly repercussions around the globe.
Tag: climate emergency
Mind the (Emissions) Gap: UN warns governments must up action to avert climate disaster
As this year's UN climate conference in Turkey looms on the horizon, the UN's Environment Programme warns of a huge gap between governments' emissions targets and what is needed to avert ever more disastrous climate change impacts. Even countries once considered environment champions are lagging way behind.
Fires, drought, heatstroke – will this climate emergency tip the scales to action?
In Europe and other hitherto little affected parts of the world, we are currently experiencing some devastating impacts of climate warming. The world is set to overshoot the 1.5°C upper limit, with emissions still on the rise. While we adapt to the life-changing impacts we can no longer avoid after decades of missed opportunities, will this wake-up call speed up the end of fossil fuels and the shift to a low-carbon economy?
Report confirms heat records in Europe and Arctic, but war-fuelled energy crisis boosts renewables and embattled climate
As the European State of the Climate Report confirms the Arctic is the fastest warming place on Earth and Europe the fastest-warming continent, the US war on Iran has shown the danger of dependency on fossil fuels while a “coalition of the willing”conference in Colombia is pushing the green energy transition ahead.
Geopolitical posturing and resource-grabbing: Trump’s distraction from the real Greenland problem
Geopolitical posturing and resource-grabbing: Trump is distracting from the real Greenland problem, as climate warming melts the ice, raising sea levels and disrupting ocean currents and weather patterns across the globe.
2026: Reform the UN COPs but look beyond for rapid climate action
COP30 in Brazil ended without a mention of the need to phase out fossil fuels, in spite of growing damage from climate warming impacts. These UN negotiations have to be reshaped, the influence of the fossil fuel industry reduced while the transition to a low-carbon world speeds on elsewhere.
Can we reclaim the narrative in a world abandoning climate protection?
Whether you look at science or news reports of weather extremes across the globe, there can be no doubt climate warming is already playing havoc with our livels. So why is the willingness to do something about it decreasing? How can we bridge the huge gap between the threat we face from climate change and the lack of action to respond?
Glacier melt threatens lives and livelihoods: 2C warming is too high
The shocking images of a glacier breaking off and covering a village in the Swiss alps highlights the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to minimize ice loss. As the first ever UN conference on glaciers opens in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, a new scientific study shows glaciers are even more sensitive to global warming than we thought.
First UN World Day for Glaciers – A call to climate action in desperate times
Accelerating ice melt from glaciers worldwide means an increased loss of freshwater resources, ever-faster sea level rise and life-threatening floods and landslides. In some regions, ice loss is already overtaking scientists’ worst-case climate scenarios. Only urgent emissions cuts can make a difference. The first time I ever saw and walked upon a glacier was in …
Continue reading First UN World Day for Glaciers – A call to climate action in desperate times
2025: Chilling prospects for a warming Arctic
Trump leaves Paris (Agreement) and sets his sights on Greenland – China and Russia flex muscles in the Arctic, as climate warming transforms the icy north. Business boom or global climate catastrophe?
