Last updated: 16 Apr 2024 02:00 Posted in:
The world is falling dangerously short of the ambition that is needed to secure a safe climate, according to Emma Cox, PwC UK’s Global Climate Leader.
Commenting on the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) ‘State of the Global Climate in 2023’ report, she added that the world’s collective failure to get to grips with climate change leaves us on the cusp of an unpredictable and economically destructive time.
Cox said: “We must now bend the curve on emissions growth and urgently seize the opportunity to realign our global economy and net zero pathway with a 1.5°C future climate.”
PwC’s latest Net Zero Economy Index shows that a year-on-year decarbonisation rate of 17.2% is now required to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels – seven times greater than what was achieved over the past year (2.5%) and 12 times faster than the global average (1.4%) over the past two decades.
The WMO said its research for the report found “that records were once again broken, and in some cases smashed, for greenhouse gas levels, surface temperatures, ocean heat and acidification, sea level rise, Antarctic sea ice cover and glacier retreat.
“Heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones caused misery and mayhem, upending every-day life for millions and inflicting many billions of dollars in economic losses.”
It added: “The number of people who are acutely food insecure worldwide has more than doubled, from 149 million people before the Covid-19 pandemic to 333 million people in 2023 (in 78 monitored countries by the World Food Programme). Weather and climate extremes may not be the root cause, but they are aggravating factors, according to the report.
“Weather hazards continued to trigger displacement in 2023, showing how climate shocks undermine resilience and create new protection risks among the most vulnerable populations.”
“We must now bend the curve on emissions growth and urgently seize the opportunity to realign our global economy and net zero pathway with a 1.5°C future climate.”
Emma Cox, PwC