Catastrophic floods, droughts and heatwaves that have hit the Earth this year have shown that dire forecasts of climate change are becoming a reality.. But experts say "
Significant progress has indeed been made this year in the form of important new legislation, especially in the US and Europe, as well as a negotiated agreement at the UN to help vulnerable countries cope with the growing onslaught of damaging climate impacts.. But the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is in jeopardy as greenhouse gas emissions could hit record highs in 2022..
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United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned world leaders at the climate summit in Egypt in November that humanity faces a tough choice between working together to fight global warming or "
This year, UN experts issued the strongest warning ever about the dangers facing the planet and humanity, releasing a report in February called the Atlas of Human Suffering..
After that, the Earth was covered by a series of extreme weather events, which demonstrated the danger of climate change, and warming amounted to 1.2 degrees Celsius.. Record heatwaves have damaged crops from China to Europe, and drought has starved millions in the Horn of Africa. Climate change-driven floods swept through Pakistan, affecting 33 million people and causing about $30 billion in damage.
2022 is expected to be one of the five hottest years on record, despite the influence of La Nina, a phenomenon that cools the atmosphere.
Egypt hosts important climate change talks this year. They took place against the backdrop of extreme weather events and rising fossil fuel prices linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.. The talks really made history: rich polluters agreed to set up a fund to pay for climate damage to poorer countries.
But the conference participants failed to achieve the emissions cuts needed to contain climate loss and damage in the future.. To maintain the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius, by 2030, emissions that cause planetary heating must be reduced by 45%, and by the middle of the century - to zero.
At the UN talks in Glasgow in 2021, countries called for an increase in their commitments to reduce emissions. But only about 30 countries heeded that call, causing the world to warm by about 2.5 degrees Celsius..