UNITED NATIONS: According to a UN report that was released on Wednesday, Pakistan’s floods this summer were a stark reminder that the changing climate will bring more disasters in the near future.
According to the United Nations Climate and Environment 2022 Year in Review report, “while some regions suffered from a lack of water” in the previous year, “whilst others were hit by catastrophic floods.”
“In Pakistan, heavy flooding and landslides brought on by monsoon rains led to the declaration of a national emergency in August. At the height of the crisis, approximately a third of the country was submerged. Millions of people were forced to flee,” the report continues.
On January 9, an international conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan will be held in Geneva by the United Nations to discuss a variety of options for supporting Pakistan in coping with the effects of climate change.
The report regrets that humanity has not reduced carbon emissions and dealt with the climate emergency, citing a number of UN-sponsored studies, and emphasizes the continuing warming of the planet as a major threat.
Additionally, the report emphasizes the necessity of reducing the use of fossil fuels and assisting developing nations in coping with man-made climate changes that result in droughts, floods, and other extreme weather.
Additionally, a recent World Meteorological Organization (WMO) study is cited in the UN report, indicating that heat waves will continue to occur more frequently into the 2060s.
The pattern is linked to the planet’s warming caused by human activities, according to WMO, a UN weather agency. The report warns that climate change raises “serious concerns for the planet’s future.”
In addition, the UN report cites a WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin that details record concentrations of the three main gases: carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. These concentrations were the highest year-over-year increase in 40 years.
It recognizes human movement as a chief to calculate this change. ” According to the report, “the world’s major economies responded to the energy crisis precipitated by the war in Ukraine by reopening old power plants and searching for new oil and gas suppliers” despite all the evidence that a shift to a low-carbon economy is urgently required.
Read: Floods Making History in Pakistan
‘Delusional’ reaction
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, has called their reaction “delusional,” reminding wealthy nations that they could have avoided the price volatility of fossil fuel markets by investing in renewable energy in the past.
In another proclamation, Mr. Guterres looked at the way of behaving of the petroleum derivative industry to the exercises of significant tobacco organizations during the 20th hundred years: ” He added, “Fossil fuel interests and their financial partners cannot avoid responsibility, like tobacco interests.” The contention of setting environment activity to the side to manage homegrown issues likewise rings empty”.
The United Nations General Assembly declared in July that everyone has the right to a clean and healthy environment. Mr. Guterres hoped that the historic declaration would make it easier for people to deal with climate disasters, close protection gaps, and reduce environmental injustices.
However, the UN report is pleased to note that the UN Climate Conference in Egypt in November established a funding mechanism to compensate vulnerable nations for the loss and damage caused by climate-induced disasters.
According to the report, the inclusion was hailed as a significant advancement because vulnerable nations have argued for such a provision for decades. However, it also points out that there was little progress made on other important issues, such as the gradual elimination of fossil fuels and the need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
