The head of the United Nations (UN) Climate Agency has issued a dire warning, stating humanity has only two years left to save the world.
He urged immediate, radical actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions and prioritize climate considerations in financial decisions.
According to Voice of America, Simon Steel, the head of the UN Climate Agency, acknowledged that the warning might seem somewhat dramatic but emphasized the urgent need to address the issue.
“Who exactly has two years to save the world? The answer is everyone on this planet… More and more people across communities and political spectrums want climate action, largely because they are feeling the impacts of the climate crisis in their daily lives and their family budgets,” Steel stated.
The warning is particularly directed at the G20 nations, which include both advanced and developing economies like the US, China, and India.
These countries are responsible for 80% of the emissions heating the planet, and Steel stressed that this should compel them to focus on mitigation projects.
Poor countries, unable to bear the cost of implementing climate change mitigation strategies, face a yearly cost of approximately $2.4 trillion to meet their climate and development priorities by 2030.
However, not everyone is convinced that fear-inducing warnings lead to effective action.
Michael Oppenheimer, a climate scientist at Princeton University and professor of international affairs, criticized the two-year deadline as meaningless rhetoric.
“At best, it is likely to be ignored, and at worst, it could backfire,” he commented.
US government data reveals that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and methane reached unprecedented levels last year, making it the hottest year on record. Meanwhile, global carbon dioxide emissions increased by 1.1%.
Steel warned that if emissions continue at the current rate, it will exacerbate the stark inequality between the world’s richest and poorest countries and communities.
