July is set to be the hottest month ever recorded, secretary-general Antonio Guterres said as he warned of a new era of ‘global boiling’.
“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning,” Guterres said.
The last three weeks have been the hottest since records began, according to experts. The World Meteorological Organisation and the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation programme said temperatures this month have broken records.
The UN secretary-general repeated his pleas for immediate action, saying that it was still possible to limit global temperatures to a crucial 1.5C. The temperature limit, experts agree, will avoid “the very worst of climate change”.
“We have seen some progress – a robust rollout of renewables and some positive steps from sectors such as shipping – but none of this is going far enough or fast enough. Accelerating temperatures demand accelerated action,” Guterres said.
He also said that the level of fossil fuel profits is unacceptable.
“Leaders must lead. No more hesitancy, no more excuses, no more waiting for others to move first. There is simply no more time for that,” he said.
A rapid analysis from the World Weather Attribution network found that greenhouse gas pollution caused a surge in temperatures of deadly heatwaves.
“Humanity made the heatwaves in southern Europe, North America and China 2.5C, 2C and 1C hotter respectively,” the study said.
Urgent action required
The warnings of climate experts could not be any clearer: we are in a climate emergency.
We agree with the UN secretary-general that this era of ‘global boiling’ should not inspire despair, but action.
At ClearVUE.Business, we have made it our mission to lower emissions by addressing businesses’ climate impact.
We address this impact using our technology, ClearVUE.Zero, which pinpoints emissions hotspots in real time. Our team then provides actionable strategies towards net zero.
