NATIONS SCORE POORLY IN CLIMATE REPORT
Despite the clear human and environmental toll of global warming, countries are taking only “baby steps” to rein in greenhouse gas emissions, a senior U.N. official said, summarizing a new U.N. report card on the promises made by governments so far.
The U.N. findings, published Tuesday, are the latest of several assessments that paint a dire picture in which the countries aren’t doing nearly enough to keep global warming within relatively safe levels.
“Today’s report shows that governments combined are taking baby steps to avert the climate crisis,” said Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the U.N. climate change agency. “And it shows why governments must make bold strides forward.”
Notably, a separate study from researchers in Saudi Arabia found that the country could face an “existential crisis” — threatening food and water supplies, along with the health of religious pilgrims during the Hajj — if global average temperatures rise by 3 degrees Celsius, or 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with preindustrial times. That’s roughly the level of warming that is projected if every country meets its climate goals.
Saudi Arabia is of course one of the world’s biggest oil producers, and it is the burning of oil and other fossil fuels that’s warming the planet by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
“In this critical juncture,” the October report said, “Saudi Arabia faces a momentous choice: To adapt and innovate in the face of climate adversity, or suffer the severe and potentially irrevocable consequences of inaction.”
The 133-page study was written by researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center.