Ryan calls for action amid climate tipping point fears

ENVIRONMENT Minister Eamon Ryan has said ‘it is time to act’ before the effects of climate change become ‘irreversible’ following the release of a worrying new climate report from the United Nations.

According to a new report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which is a specialised agency of the United Nations, there is a 50/50 chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5C in one of the next five years.

The WMO said the likelihood of this happening is increasing over time. For the years between 2017 and 2021, there was a 10% chance of global average temperatures exceeding 1.5C. The 1.5C figure is an indicator of the point at which climate impacts will become increasingly harmful to people and the planet itself.

Mr Ryan said the problem with exceeding the 1.5C threshold is that there are certain tipping points that we could cross that makes climate change irreversible.

‘We have to heed the warning. It’s not the first, it’s one of many, but it is time to act and our job in Government is to deliver those changes that will cut emissions, improve our quality of life and keep us below that threshold. It’s not impossible. But it’s a huge challenge.’