As COVID-19 vaccination programs roll out, 2021 starts with hope that an end to the pandemic is in sight. We needed bold leadership, tough decisions and dedicated financing to bring us to this point. We must now apply the same vigor to fighting climate change or risk many more years as bad as the last.
The year 2020 — likely to go down as the warmest on record — brought storms, wildfires, droughts, floods and melting glaciers. The pandemic-linked economic slowdown has caused a temporary dip in carbon dioxide emissions, but this will make a negligible difference to long-term temperatures; our past emissions are still in the atmosphere and we are adding to them.
Even if countries were to implement the latest voluntary pledges — known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — under the Paris Agreement on climate change, we would still be heading for a projected rise in the global average temperature of 3.2 degrees Celsius (4.4 F) over preindustrial levels by the end of the 21st century. Such warming would bring pain, misery and disruption that would eclipse everything COVID-19 has thrown at us.
We are close to the point of no return.
Drought and water scarcity are among the many impacts of rising temperatures
Leaders can back off from the brink by investing in sustainable solutions as part of pandemic recovery efforts. The Emissions Gap Report 2020, published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), told us that doing so could reduce the projected 2030 emissions by 25% — bringing the world roughly where it needs to be for a chance at hitting the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Net-zero commitments could even bring us closer to the goal of 1.5 degree Celsius.
Preparing for a marathon
Green and sustainable recovery measures can deliver these cuts while supporting other environmental, social and economic goals. We need direct support for zero-emissions technologies and infrastructure. An end to coal and fossil fuel subsidies. Policies that enable lower-carbon consumption. Nature-based solutions — including large-scale landscape restoration and reforestation carried out under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which starts this year.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
So far, too few nations have invested in green stimulus packages. This has to change.
2021 is also the year in which COP26, a pivotal meeting of countries signed up to the Paris Agreement, takes place. According to the Emissions Gap Report, 126 countries have adopted, announced or are considering net-zero emission plans. If the new US administration joins the race as promised, countries accounting for more than 63% of global carbon dioxide emissions will have committed to carbon neutrality.
But, like the person who pledges on the first day of January to run a marathon by the end of the year, we need to take specific steps, starting now, so we are ready for the race. These commitments must be urgently translated into strong, near-term policies and actions that integrate with a low-carbon pandemic recovery and are included in new and stronger NDCs ahead of the November summit. Otherwise, they are empty promises.
Clean energy is a must in the push to reach net-zero targets
Adaptation financing needs a boost
Another priority is to help vulnerable countries and communities deal with the intensifying impacts of climate change. UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report, which will be published in the coming weeks, will show that we are still not taking adaptation seriously. Finance remains far below the levels required and most initiatives in are yet to reduce climate risks. As UN Secretary-General has said, we need a global commitment to put half of all global climate finance towards adaptation before COP26.
This year, we have a real chance to head off climate catastrophe. By using stimulus resources wisely to kick-start real systemic change, planned and tracked through stronger NDCs and net-zero commitments, we could not only hit the 2°C target of the Paris Agreement, but be in with a fighting chance of attaining the 1.5°C goal.
We must take this opportunity to protect our climate and nature, and in turn, human health, peace and prosperity, for decades to come. It may be one of the last we get.
Inger Andersen is the executive director of the UN Environment Programme.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
January: Locusts devastate East Africa
After years of drought followed by torrential rains, East Africa is devastated by the biggest swarm of locusts in decades. Billions of the ravenous insects devour crops in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, spreading to southern Africa, Yemen and India in later months. Climate scientists say heavy rains and warmer temperatures linked to climate change are to blame for “exceptional” breeding conditions.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
February: ‘Black summer’ scorches Australia
A long bushfire season comes to an end after more than six months. Thirty-three people and 3 billion animals are dead, hurt or displaced, and an area the size of South Korea has been devastated. Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejects a direct link between greenhouse gas emissions and the severity of the fires; Australia is one of the world’s highest per capita emitters of carbon dioxide.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
March: COVID clears the skies
With more than half the global population under lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, global greenhouse gas emissions slow. Skies above industrial centers in China, Italy and elsewhere clear as airlines slash flights, factories shut down and city streets empty out. But as lockdowns ease and people find ways to live with the pandemic, experts warn emissions may rebound.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
April: Calls for a green pandemic recovery
As researchers race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, world leaders struggle to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic. Chancellor Angela Merkel announces that Germany plans to make climate-friendly investment a priority in its recovery plans and urges global decision-makers to do the same. Meanwhile, activists keep up the pressure with protests, both virtual and physically distanced.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
May: Cities boost urban mobility
The first pandemic wave begins to ebb and people — some cooped up for weeks — begin to venture outdoors. To help maintain physical distancing and keep traffic jams and public transport crowds from getting out of control, many cities introduce temporary or permanent measures to improve urban mobility. Bogota, Colombia (above) adds more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) of emergency bike lanes.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
June: Germany takes on plastic waste
The ongoing pandemic isn’t just a health disaster. Use of disposable face masks, gloves and other plastic products has skyrocketed, contributing to a growing waste problem. In a related attempt to clean up the mess and move away from a “throw-away culture,” Germany falls in line with the EU and decides to ban plastic cutlery, straws, food containers and other single-use products as of July 2021.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
July: Environmental disaster in Siberia
Early in the summer, Russia declares a state of emergency after some 21,000 tons of diesel fuel are leaked, contaminating local rivers and soil in Siberia. The disaster is followed by uncontrolled wildfires across the region, one of the world’s coldest. Smoldering permafrost and burning brush release more than half a billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere the following months.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
August: Extreme weather sweeps the world
Back-to-back hurricanes in the Caribbean; raging wildfires in the Amazon rainforest; historic floods in Southeast Asia: The increasingly devastating effects of climate change make themselves known. Hurricane Laura, which caused intense flooding in the Dominican Republic and Haiti (above), claims dozens of lives there and in the US. Pakistan, meanwhile, sees its worst flooding since 1931.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
September: Wildfires cast an eerie glow
As China makes an unexpected announcement to become climate neutral by 2060, wildfires rage across the US west coast, casting an ominous orange glow over San Francisco and the Bay Area. The fires scorch the states of Oregon, Washington and California for months. Overall, fires in the US claimed an estimated 4,177,856 acres (1,690,718 hectares) of land in 2020, more than half the size of Belgium.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
October: Devil back in Australia
Conservation groups reveal that the Tasmanian devil has made an appearance on the Australian mainland for the first time in 3,000 years. The “historic” release of the carnivorous marsupials into a sanctuary north of Sydney will give the endangered species the chance to rebuild a self-sustaining wild population. It’s estimated that fewer than 25,000 devils still live in the wild.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
November: Biden boosts US climate hopes
The US officially leaves the Paris Agreement — a day after the decisive win of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the presidential election. Biden pledges to rejoin the international climate accord when he takes office in January and announces ambitious plans — and trillions in funding — to help wean the US energy sector off fossil fuels over the next 15 years and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
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2020: Climate took a back seat to COVID
December: EU raises climate ambitions
As the world marks five years since the signing of the Paris Agreement, the EU ups its green credentials. After months of tough negotiations, and a prior endorsement by the European Parliament, the 27 member states agree to a binding target to cut carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels — up from 40%. Campaigners welcome the move but say much more still needs to be done.
Author: Martin Kuebler
