Climate Action Network South Asia yesterday applauded the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which showed that it was still possible to avoid catastrophic climate changes only with rapid and sustained cuts to carbon pollution.
“This report shows that we have the solutions to the climate crisis, but with the high levels of carbon pollution which is still on the rise, it is evident that a lot needs to be done, and faster, to accelerate the transition from dirty energy to clean, renewable power,” said Climate Action Network South Asia Director Sanjay Vashist, in a press release.
The report points to the benefits of increasing the use of pollution-free renewable power and phasing out dirty fossil fuels in the long term.
Bangladeshi scientist and International Institute for Environment and Development Climate Change Group Senior Fellow Dr Saleemul Huq said: “The IPCC Working Group III report reinforces the message of Working Group II that there is very little time left to bend the curve of emissions and temperatures towards 2 degrees instead of the 4 degrees we are currently headed towards.”
For the world to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the report points out that the use of zero and low carbon energy sources needs to be tripled by 2050.
To fund the transition, the IPCC said at least USD30 billion per year would be needed to be divested from dirty energy over the coming decades, while investments in renewable power would need to doubled.
South Asia more specifically would be susceptible to climate extremities, especially weather events such as flood and drought, and its impact would only be aggravated as the region houses some of the world’s most impoverished in countries namely Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
Cansa is a coalition of 116 civil society organisations from seven countries of South Asia, demanding all countries ratify the second commitment period of Kyoto protocol by 2015.
