The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued an alarming warning on Monday.
But China of all people sees no reason to change course.
Beijing - China * is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases in absolute terms - but the country cannot be dissuaded from its less ambitious climate policy. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) only published an alarming report on Monday. However, China sees no reason to sharpen its current climate policy: "The international community must have full confidence in the implementation of the Chinese climate protection measures," said the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday when asked by the AFP news agency. However, no new climate protection targets were announced.
China is currently the largest polluter due to its many greenhouse gas emissions.
The government in Beijing had announced that the country wanted to reduce CO2 emissions by 2030 and become climate neutral by 2060.
However, the Chinese government has recently pushed ahead with the opening of dozens of new coal-fired power plants in order to secure economic growth.
President Xi Jinping * will "strictly control" the construction of coal-fired power plants, the ministry said - but only from 2026 will coal consumption be gradually reduced.
Until then, further expansion is planned for the time being.
China is the number 1 polluter - does not want to change the climate course
Australia, which has one of the highest CO2 emission rates per inhabitant in the world, also rejects the more ambitious emission targets of the IPCC. The government still does not want to commit to greenhouse neutrality by 2050, because the country is already doing its part against climate change *, says Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "I will not sign a blank check on behalf of the Australians for goals without a plan," commented the conservative politician on the goals of the IPCC.
The alliance of smaller island states, which are particularly affected by the climate crisis, is concerned.
Dozens appealed to the international community to "save our future".
For example, Diann Black-Layne, climate negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) and ambassador for Antigua and Barbuda, declared on Monday evening: “We have to turn things around”.
Alarming results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Because it is precisely the small island states that are threatened in their existence by rising sea levels. Already 1.5 degrees of global warming compared to pre-industrial times would be enough to raise sea levels by half a meter, explains the ambassador. If global warming is limited to below two degrees, a rise in sea levels of three meters could be prevented in the long term. The alliance consists of 39 states, including Cuba *, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and the Maldives, the deepest country in the world.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a body made up of several hundred researchers who publish a new status report on the climate every five to seven years. According to the IPCC report * published on Monday, the earth is now warming even faster than previously assumed and will be 1.5 degrees warmer by 2030 than in the pre-industrial era - ten years earlier than forecast in 2018. According to the researchers, global warming is "clearly" caused by humans. Some of the effects of global warming, such as the rise in sea levels and the melting of glaciers, are already "irreversible", according to the UN climate experts.
(AFP / klb) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.