Goal 13:Climate Action

There is no country in the world that is not experiencing first-hand the drastic effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and are now more than 50 percent higher than their 1990 level. Further, global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system, which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not take action now.

Image result for climate action

The annual average losses from tsunamis, tropical cyclones and flooding amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, requiring an investment of US$6 billion annually in disaster risk management alone. The goal aims to mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries and help mitigate climate-related disasters.

Helping more vulnerable regions, such as land locked countries and island states, adapt to climate change must go hand in hand with efforts to integrate disaster risk measures into national strategies. It is still possible, with the political will and a wide array of technological measures, to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This requires urgent collective action.

Image result for climate action graph

THE CHALLENGE

The Earth’s climate is changing, with severe consequences for our daily lives and the resilience of our countries. Climate change is disrupting national economies, People are experiencing changing weather patterns, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities driving this change continue to rise. They are now at their highest levels in history. Globally averaged temperatures in 2017 were 0.90 degrees Celsius warmer than the 1951 to 1980 mean, according to NASA. 2016 was the third consecutive year in which temperatures were more than 1 degree Celsius above late nineteenth-century levels. To put this into perspective, each one degree Celsius of temperature increase in global mean temperature is estimated to reduce average global yields of wheat by 6%, rice yields by 3.2%, and maize yields by 7.4%. When averaged over all of the world’s oceans, absolute sea level has risen at an average rate of 0.06 inches per year from 1880 to 2013. Since 1993, however, average sea level has risen at a rate of 0.11 to 0.14 inches per year—roughly twice as fast as the long-term trend. Global emissions of carbon dioxide have increased by almost 50% since 1990 with emissions increasing more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous decades.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century and is likely to surpass 3 degrees Celsius this century – with some areas of the world expected to warm even more. The poorest and most vulnerable people are being affected the most. Climate change also exacerbates disasters and combating it is absolutely vital to guaranteeing our survival and the wellbeing of future generations.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

  1. As of 2017 humans are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels.
  2. Global sea levels have risen by about 20 cm since 1880 and are projected to rise another 30–122 cm by 2100.
  3. Global sea levels have risen by about 20 cm since 1880 and are projected to rise another 30–122 cm by 2100.
  4. Climate pledges under The Paris Agreement cover only one third of the emissions reductions needed to keep the world below 2°C.
  5. Bold climate action could trigger at least US$26 trillion in economic benefits by 2030.
  6. The energy sector alone will create around 18 million more jobs by 2030, focused specifically on sustainable energy. 

THE TARGETS:

  1. Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
  2. Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
  3. Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
  4. Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.