The phrase could typically come out of the mouth of activist Greta Thunberg, environmental campaigns or street marches for climate, but it was said by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
“This report is a litany of broken climate promises,” Guterres said in a video shown at the launch of the new UN climate panel report on Monday.
The study reveals that the world has reduced the chances of limiting global warming to up to 1.5ºC and that the policy announcements made by governments until 2020 lead us to a scenario of 3.2ºC by the end of the century, with catastrophic effects that range from from extreme events to food and water insecurity.
“Some government and business leaders are saying one thing and doing another. Simply put, they are lying,” Guterres said.
“Governments and high-emission corporations are not just turning a blind eye; they are adding fuel to the flames. They are smothering our planet, based on their historic interests and investments in fossil fuels, when cheaper, renewable solutions provide green jobs, energy security and greater price stability”, says the UN Secretary-General in a video.
He refers to the report’s revelations about the cheapening of renewable energy over the last decade – solar energy, for example, has now cost 85% less and its implementation has increased 10-fold globally between 2010 and 2019.
The UN report also shows that demand for services such as transport and infrastructure offers chances to reduce emissions by 40% to 70% by 2050, compared to the projection based on current government commitments.
The impatience also set the tone for repercussions among government representatives from the so-called Coalition of High Ambition, which is pushing for higher national targets in the Paris Agreement.
“How many more reports do we need before we actually do what we said we would do?” said Marshall Islands special climate envoy Tina Stege.
“Expanding greenhouse gas emissions are undermining the fundamental human and environmental rights of the world’s most vulnerable, including here in the Pacific Islands,” said Vanuatu Foreign Minister Hon Marc Ati.
Also members of the Coalition, the Europeans expressed the need to increase climate targets – the so-called NDCs, an acronym for determined national contributions.
“Countries need to align their NDCs with the 1.5°C target before the next COP in Egypt [no fim deste ano]”, said Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans.
“The report gives us a clearer understanding of what to do to succeed – for example, presenting policies across sectors, accelerating the elimination of fossil fuels and harmful subsidies, putting a price on carbon and much more,” says the minister. of Climate and Environment of Sweden, Annika Strandhäll.
Despite the climate emergency alert, solutions are within reach, highlights the organization dedicated to environmental research WRI (World Resources Institute).
“We must decarbonise electricity generation, industry, transport and buildings, while halting and reversing deforestation. We must invest in innovation while closing the climate finance gap. We must improve agricultural practices, reducing waste and food waste and shifting to more sustainable diets. And we must stop investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure while increasing carbon removal,” said Ani Dasgupta, President of WRI.
