The world is still underestimating the risk of catastrophic climate breakdown and ecosystem collapse, the UN secretary general has warned in the run-up to Cop29, acknowledging that the rise in global heating is on course to soar past 1.5C (2.7F) over pre-industrial levels in the coming years.
Humanity is approaching potentially irreversible tipping points such as the collapse of the Amazon rainforest and the Greenland ice sheet as global temperatures rise, António Guterres has said, warning that governments are not making the deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions needed to limit warming to safe levels.
Speaking to the Guardian, the UN secretary general said that a second US departure from the Paris climate agreement under a new Donald Trump presidency would risk crippling the process but said the accord would survive.
I thought the tipping point had been miscalculated due to not factoring in the colapse if sea currents and new calculations show we’re well past it. There’s only mitigation left. Prevention has been out the window for a long time.