Rising global temperatures alarming, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon says

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called upon all countries to be part of the solution in ensuring the rising global temperatures go down.

He expressed concern over the recently released Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) data which indicates that land and ocean surface temperatures have increased globally by nearly one degree Celsius since 1901.

The report also indicates that parts of Africa, Asia, North America and South America surface temperatures have risen by up to 2.5 degrees.

In a speech read on his behalf by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Mr. Michel Jarraud during the opening of a climate change conference in Paris, France, Moon said the report was frightening since it indicates that if nothing is done, the world is heading towards an average global warming of between five to six degrees by the end of the century.

“The world is at a critical crossroad.  World leaders have a historic opportunity to adopt a new sustainable development agenda and to reach a global agreement on climate change since both will have enormous consequences for this and future generations,” he said.

He called upon countries that have not submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the new climate agreement to do so.

“More than 40 developed and developing nations representing with slightly over half of global emissions have already submitted targets. Some countries have committed up to 50 per cent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030,” he said.

He said it is important that countries who pledged to release funds as regards matters of climate change should fill the holes so as to win this battle.

“The difference between emissions reductions pledged by Parties to the United Nations Framework  Convention on Climate Change‎ (UNFCCC) which is staying within two degrees Celsius has been increasing. The same applies for the adaptation gap due to funds committed. To bridge these gaps, it is critical to fill holes in funding, knowledge, technology, capacity and trust,” Moon said.

He said the conference will examine transformative solutions to climate change, from initiatives in the energy sector to ecosystem adaptation and the green economy.

On behalf of WMO, Mr. Jarraud said increasing temperatures have led to water cycles being altered since Ice and snow are melting.

“Sea levels are rising. Oceans are warming and becoming more acidic. Extreme weather events like heat waves are becoming more frequent and more intense. It is the poor and the vulnerable are paying the highest price,” he said.

Jarraud said that time is running out fast and it is critical and urgent to take action to contain the worst impacts of climate change.

“Science gives us high confidence that we can still change course and mitigate climate change to a manageable level. It is necessary to refine climate change scenarios and their downscaling to the regional and sub-regional scale in support of long-term planning,” he said.