Name: World leaders fail to curb climate change in 2020 | DW News
Uploaded: 2020-12-04T19:00:06.000Z
Duration: 7 min
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Basic passive voice

the state of the planet is broken difference.

Nature always strikes back, and it is already doing so with growing force and fury.

We have a chance not simply to resettle the economy, but to transform it.

Secretary General, Antonio Guterres today urging world leaders to make the fight against global warming a priority in 2021.

Reports published today say this year is on track to be one of the hottest ever recorded, and they say human caused greenhouse gasses are to blame.

127 countries are considering or have adopted net zero emissions targets, but the U.

N says too many governments are still expanding their fossil fuel industries.

Now let's cross over to Stanford in California and bring in Noah Defenbaugh, who's a climate scientist at Stanford.

No, it's good to have you on the program.

The words today from Antonio Gutierrez, a suicidal war on nature that some of the strongest language that we have ever heard from a U.

Well, the core of the climate challenge is really that, uh, you know, the the climate change is a side effect of energy consumption, uh, fossil fuel, energy consumption.

And, uh, you know that that energy consumption is really critical for human well being.

And the reality is we don't supply as much energy as we need to globally right now.

So the real challenge is how to ensure that all people on Earth have access to the energy that's necessary for well being while simultaneously stabilizing the climate system.

And in order to stabilize the climate system, you know, we we will have to reach net zero emissions.

That's just the fundamental physics of planet Earth.

The rhetoric that's been coming from the incoming Joe Biden administration sounds good.

He's He's even appointed John Kerry to be the special envoy for the climate.

Um, isn't the US though too far behind here to play catch up?

Well, uh, you know, the what's key about about global warming and climate change is really, uh you know the cumulative total emissions.

You know, the global warming that we get are essentially proportional to the total global emissions.

Has been around ah quarter around 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions.

Historically the largest single, um, contributor to the total global warming to date, Um, and the U.

California, for example, Where I live has, you know, has has been a real leader in being a test bed for climate policies for technologies, for showing that it's possible to, uh, decrease greenhouse gas emissions while also continuing to have economic growth and have have a vibrant economy.

We have a law a long way to go here in California to continue to address inequality.

But that's something that has been prioritized in the latest state climate policy.

So within the US on and with even within the federal government, there is a lot of leadership, and you know there's a potential to continue to accelerate that leadership in the years ahead.

We know that this is one of the hottest years on record, and I'm sure where you are you've seen or smelt the smoke from the California wildfires this year.

I mean, we're even talking about heat waves in the oceans now 2020 the warmest oceans have been in recorded history.

That was part of the report that came out today.

Is it not a source of deep frustration to you that the U.

S, at least on a federal level, has sat this one out for four important years, You know, as scientists who are trying to understand the way the world works.

We have learned a lot about the climate system over the last decade, in particular about how the global warming that's already happened is impacting people in ecosystems.

The wildfires that you mentioned here in California, which absolutely have been nearby in the Bay Area and enveloped not just the Bay Area, but but so much of California and the West coast of the United States in smoke.

Uh, you know, our our research shows that you know California, you know, is now experiencing about twice as many extreme wildfire weather days as four decades ago.

Three area burned in the western United States has increased around tenfold in the last four decades.

About half of that is attributable to long term global warming.

So we we have a much clearer understanding of the impacts of climate change here and now.

Uh, compared with with a decade or two ago, we also have a clear understanding that those impacts will accelerate.

Eso uh you know, really, we're in a situation where the more Goebel warming we get, the greater the risk, the more intense the impacts.

Reducing the level of global warming will reduced that intensification.

But we already know where we're experiencing impacts from the 1.1 degrees Celsius of warming we've already had, even at two degrees of warming or even at 1.5 degree of warming, we'll have Mawr Mawr intensification of risks relative to today.

It will require increasing energy access.

Uh, d carbonized the energy system and adapting to climate change.

Different ballot, Stanford University Professor, We appreciate your time and your insights tonight.