Global temperatures rose as heatwaves took over swathes of the US and Europe this week.
Over 113 million people are under some type of red alert, as temperatures are shattering decades-long record highs. In the UK, June smashed temperature records set back in 1940.
Africa and Europe have also been affected, with unprecedented temperatures in parts of North Africa and Italy.
Temperatures are only expected to get worse, according to former head of the UN climate body. Professor Sir Bob Watson warned that, at the current rate, the key global warming limit of 1.5C will be missed.
Climate experts agree that passing this limit will expose millions to devastating climate effects.
World leaders agreed to commit to limiting the temperature increase above 1.5C in the Paris agreement. However, climate scientists have warned that progress is too slow.
In an interview with the BBC he said: “I think most people fear that if we give up on the 1.5 [Celsius limit] which I do not believe we will achieve, in fact I’m very pessimistic about achieving even 2C, that if we allow the target to become looser and looser, higher and higher, governments will do even less in the future.”
Lord Stern, Chairman of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, echoed Watson’s concerns: “I think 1.5 is probably out of reach even if we accelerate quickly now, but we could bring it back if we start to bring down the cost of negative emissions and get better at negative emissions. Negative emissions means direct air capture of carbon dioxide.”
Take action today
Temperatures continue to soar as climate experts continue to issue climate warnings.
Businesses have a responsibility to reduce their emissions urgently so as to keep the planet safe.
How can businesses achieve this quickly and without change to their business operations?
Our mission at ClearVUE.Business is to provide actionable strategies that reduce carbon emissions without deterring operations.
Our industry-leading technology, ClearVUE.Zero, measures your emissions in real time and tracks your progress.
