What does the UN climate report mean for the Philippines? Expert says stronger cyclones, faster sea level rise
Gaea Katreena Cabico (Philstar.com) – August 11, 2021 – 11:31 am
MANILA, Philippines – Man-made climate change is intensifying the cyclones that threaten many countries around the world, including the Philippines, and will make storms worse in the decades to come, a climatologist said on Wednesday.
In a sobering report on Monday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed that “broad and rapid” changes in the atmosphere, oceans and land have occurred and that it is ” unequivocally â€that human activities have warmed the planet.
The IPCC, a group of climate scientists convened by the United Nations, has warned that some of the consequences of the climate crisis, especially changes in the ocean and ice caps, are irreversible for centuries, if not millennia.
And what do the report’s findings mean for the Philippines, a Pacific archipelago highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change?
“This means that the impacts that we are already seeing now, for example the impacts of tropical cyclones across the country, will get worse. The projection is that even if the number of tropical cyclones will not increase, its intensity will certainly increase, â€climatologist Lourdes Tibig said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
“We’re going to see more negative impacts, we’re going to experience more extreme temperatures, we’re going to experience more heavy rains and flooding. What does this mean for our economy? It’s a lot, â€she added.
The IPCC has warned that the average global temperature is likely to exceed the 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold over the next 20 years, leading to more extreme weather events. Human activities have already warmed the Earth by 1.1 ° C.
The continued rise in sea level due to climate change will affect the country’s coastal communities, Tibig also said, warning that some islands could be submerged under water if sea level rise is not slowed down. .
“Sea level rise in Philippine seas is faster than the IPCC report says,” she said.
At least three meters of sea level rise can be avoided if humans limit warming to 1.5 ° C instead of 2 ° C, according to the report.
Quick action is needed
Tibig, who is also a climate adviser at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities and a member of the National Technical Expert Group of the Commission on Climate Change, said people would see more negative impacts on the environment. , agriculture, food security and the health sector of the country. if we ignore the new report.
She said the report sends the message that governments must take critical action to limit warming to 1.5 ° C, the target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
“It just means that we need to act quickly now and that we need to take massive action to reduce our emissions,†Tibig said.
“We need to step up our actions, we need to be aware of what’s going to happen if you don’t try to do something.”
As it happens
LAST UPDATE: Aug 10, 2021 – 2:53 p.m.
Follow this page for updates on climate change and information on current environmental issues. Main photo by Efigenio Toledo IV
August 10, 2021 – 2:53 p.m.
China insisted on Tuesday it was implementing its climate commitments, while signaling no new policies following a UN report warning that much more urgent action was needed to fight global warming climate.
Many world leaders responded to Monday’s report that climate change was happening faster than expected, calling for decisive and immediate action to cut fossil fuels.
When asked for a response to the report, China’s Foreign Ministry highlighted the government’s current policies and commitments.
“China has insisted on prioritizing sustainable, green and low-carbon development,” a spokesperson told AFP in a statement. – AFP
August 10, 2021 – 7:59 am
An explosive climate science report “must spell the end” for coal, oil and gas, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, warning that fossil fuels were destroying the planet.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 ° C temperature target would likely be exceeded by 2030 – a decade earlier than it had been. – even planned barely three years ago.
Guterres called the IPCC assessment, the most comprehensive review of climate science ever, a “code red for humanity.” – AFP
August 10, 2021 – 7:55 a.m.
The capacity of forests, soils and oceans to absorb more than half of all human-made CO2 pollution is expected to weaken with new emissions, threatening efforts to limit global warming to acceptable levels, the UN warned on Monday.
So-called terrestrial and ocean sinks have systematically removed 56% of the CO2 generated by human activity from the atmosphere over the past six decades, but that percentage is expected to decline, according to the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Human Rights. climate change. – AFP
August 10, 2021 – 7:54 a.m.
Climate impacts such as rising sea levels and melting frozen spaces on Earth are now “irreversible for centuries or millennia”, even as humanity drastically reduces its carbon pollution, warned Monday a UN scientific report.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the greenhouse gases that humans had already emitted meant it was inevitable that the oceans would continue to rise due to warming and melting. ice cream, “and will remain high for thousands of years.” – AFP
August 10, 2021 – 7:54 a.m.
All but a tiny fraction of the 1.1 degrees Celsius of global warming since the mid-19th century is “unequivocally caused by human activities,” the UN said on Monday in its first comprehensive assessment of climate science since. 2014.
“It has been clear for decades that the Earth’s climate is changing and the role of human influence on the climate system is undisputed,” said the co-chair of Working Group 1 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. climate, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, in a press release. – AFP