Filenews 6 May 2022
New and clear solutions for mitigating the climate crisis are presented in the new report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as assessed by Terra Cypria - Cyprus Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. He stresses that the Republic of Cyprus is still today one of the highest, per capita carbon dioxide emissions, in Europe. "In order to change this negative performance of ours and to begin as a state to become part of the solution to the global effort to address the climate crisis, the state must take seriously the latest data indicated in the IPCC report, and make great, decisive and strategic leaps."
According to an announcement from the non-governmental organization, on April 4, 2022, the UN issued its long-awaited Climate Change Report 2022: Climate Change Mitigation. He believes that the report comes at a very critical climate time for the planet and presents solutions to address problems in various areas such as energy, industry, agriculture, land use, and transport.
"The report strongly points out that despite all the actions taken so far, total greenhouse gas emissions have continued to increase around the world in recent years. As a result, it seems that the scope for mitigating the effects of climate change is narrowing and radical changes are now needed from all over the planet in order to be able to find a solution to this serious problem and limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C. Recognizing the difficulties that the whole planet is expected to face in the coming years, the report presents based on objective and specialized scientific knowledge and experience the actions that need to be taken to limit global warming," it added.
According to Terra Cypria, the report sends a clear and strong message to all countries that we can cut our emissions by half by 2030. "What is now lacking is the political will of each state to implement the solutions that will bring the desired result, something that the report clearly overemphasizes."
The organization also notes the following:
The report also makes it clear that there must be a dramatic reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels, including natural gas (-55% by 2050), if the 1.5 °C limit is not to be exceeded. Furthermore, in order to avoid being locked into practices with a high carbon impact, investment in new fossil fuel projects must stop. On the contrary, the path to be followed is to increase funding for energy infrastructure for a rapid green transition. It is also reported that the cost of clean renewable energy technologies has been drastically reduced and the development of climate solutions, including solar and wind energy, electric vehicles and storage batteries has accelerated in recent years. This indicates that the adoption of such technologies is increasingly feasible and efficient. Finally, the report confirms what is already known, namely that the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems offers enormous potential for mitigation due to the absorption and removal of carbon from the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, the Republic of Cyprus continues today to have one of the highest, per capita carbon dioxide emissions, in Europe. In order to change this negative performance of ours and to begin as a state to become part of the solution to the global effort to address the climate crisis, the state must take seriously the latest data indicated in the IPCC report, and make great, decisive and strategic leaps to achieve a zero-emission economy.
