Climate Action Needed Everywhere, All at Once

By Amber Ankerholz, 22 March, 2023

It’s not too late to address climate change. In fact, “multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change” are available now, says the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. But, accelerated action in this decade is essential to meet climate goals.

For example, “keeping warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels requires deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors,” according to the report announcement. "Every fraction of a degree counts," notes the World Economic Forum, and "the viability of humanity living within planetary boundaries rests on the actions we take in the next seven years."

We’ve previously looked at how the tenets of open source, such as collaboration and community, can be a factor in fighting climate change, and in this article, we share key points from the IPCC report, which calls for immediate, coordinated action.

Everything Is Connected

In a related video message, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called the IPCC report a “how-to guide to defuse the climate time bomb.” He emphasized that “our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once,” in a reference to the popular film.

This reference seems apt as the report recognizes the interconnectedness of our climate, ecosystems, and societies. To be effective, the announcement says, our climate choices “need to be rooted in our diverse values, worldviews and knowledges, including scientific knowledge, indigenous knowledge and local knowledge.”

“The solution proposed by the IPCC is ‘climate resilient development,’ which involves integrating measures to adapt to climate change with actions to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in ways that provide wider benefits,” according to a UN news article covering the report.

Accelerated Action

“Emissions should be decreasing by now and will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C,” says the announcement.

Guterres also presented plans to spur swifter climate action through an Acceleration Agenda, which “calls for an end to coal, net-zero electricity generation by 2035 for all developed countries and 2040 for the rest of the world, and a stop to all licensing or funding of new oil and gas, and any expansion of existing oil and gas reserves,” according to the UN article.

We have already seen breakthroughs in renewables, says the WEF, including development of cheap solar and wind power and electric vehicles. Now, we need similar breakthroughs in areas of heavy industry and long-haul transportation, as well as our agriculture and food systems.

“Choices made in the next few years will play a critical role in deciding our future and that of generations to come,” the announcement states. “Taking the right action now could result in the transformational change essential for a sustainable, equitable world.”