Edited by Flaminia Marchetti, Policy Analyst, Laura Morreale, Policy Analyst & Silvia Porcaro, Policy Analyst
Climate change indicators break new records
On May 18th, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) - the UN agency for weather, climate and water resources - published the State of the Global Climate 2021. This report is extremely important as it provides a summary on the state of the climate indicators in 2021, and can guide policy makers decisions.
The report focuses on the analysis of the climate change trends on earth according to 14 indicators. Ranging from ocean’s acidification to Green House Gas concentrations, these indicators cover most environmental issues, including those that only recently gained our attention, such as the phenomenon of “El Niño”, and that reflect the state of health of our planet.
Breaking records
The most recent report has confirmed that the last ones have been the warmest seven years on record. The average global temperature in 2021 was about 1.11 (± 0.13) °C above the pre-industrial level.
In particular, the authors hope to call attention to four climate change indicators: greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification, that have set new records in 2021. However, the latter are not the only alarming indicators, as a matter of fact, all indicators point out to the need for change and to boost the green transition.
Less than two weeks ago, the WMO published an alarming climate update about global temperatures. Scientists have in fact mentioned that there is a 50:50 chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial level for at least one of the next five years. To conclude, they also specified the likelihood of its increase with time.
What do experts think?
Following both the report and the climate update, António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, proposed a number of actions to boost the green transition. The Secretary General has always claimed the importance of renewable energies as the best tool to fight climate change, as it also is the only way to reach energy security, stable power prices and sustainable employment opportunities.
Similarly, Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary General, reprimanded governments for not taking the right actions to slow down climate change, and reproached Western countries for polluting at the expense of less developed countries and called for immediate action.