We’re Running Out Of Time But Not Out Of Options To Address Climate Change- UNFCCC Executive Secretary
Thilini Bandara
March 25, 2023
The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) offered remarks on the recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report. In his statement, he emphasized that the report brings greater clarity and depth to a fundamental and undeniable truth: the world must intensify its efforts to address climate change, and we must do so immediately.
We now find ourselves in a defining decade for global climate action. The science is unequivocal—global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by approximately 43% by the year 2030 if we are to achieve the targets set by the Paris Agreement. Specifically, these targets aim to limit the rise in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius, while also striving to restrict the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The IPCC’s Synthesis Report presents a sobering assessment, clearly indicating just how far we currently are from being on track to meet these crucial goals.
Despite this alarming trajectory, the message from the IPCC is equally clear: it is not too late to act. The report demonstrates that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius remains within our reach, but only if we undertake immediate, rapid, and substantial reductions in emissions across all sectors of the global economy. The IPCC has provided a comprehensive suite of practical, effective, and cost-efficient mitigation and adaptation strategies that can be implemented at scale across countries, regions, and industries.
However, to realistically achieve a halving of global emissions by the end of this decade, we must now move from broad commitments to detailed, actionable strategies. The upcoming Global Stocktake, a formal process established under the Paris Agreement to assess collective progress, will be a critical juncture. It presents an opportunity for nations to align on concrete, measurable milestones that will guide our efforts toward meeting the 2030 targets.
This global roadmap must outline specific, sector-by-sector steps that address not only mitigation but also adaptation, climate finance, loss and damage, technology transfer, and capacity building. It is essential that all these components are integrated into a comprehensive, coordinated plan that reflects the urgency of the moment.
Looking ahead, COP28 has the potential to serve as a pivotal turning point. It can provide the platform to advance finance reforms, reinforce political and corporate accountability, and accelerate climate action based on the viable pathways the IPCC has set out. COP28 must be the moment where the international community comes together to begin correcting our current course and take meaningful, collective steps to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
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