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L'Orient-Le Jour
08-05-2025
- Science
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Global temperatures remain above 1.5°C
Global temperatures remained at historically high levels in April, continuing a nearly two-year streak of unprecedented heat on the planet, which is stirring the scientific community regarding the pace of global warming. Globally, April 2025 is ranked the second warmest after April 2024, according to the European observatory Copernicus, which bases its data on billions of measurements from satellites, weather stations, and other tools. Last month extends an uninterrupted series of record or near-record temperatures that has lasted since July 2023, soon approaching two years. Since then, with one exception, every month has been at least 1.5°C hotter than the pre-industrial era average (1850-1900). Many scientists had anticipated that the 2023-2024 period — the two hottest years ever measured globally — would be followed by a respite when the warmer conditions of the El Nino phenomenon would fade. "With 2025, it should have settled down, but instead, we remain in this phase of accelerated warming," said Johan Rockström, director at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. "It seems that we are stuck here" and "what explains this is not entirely resolved, but it's a very worrying sign," he told AFP. The past two years "have been exceptional," Samantha Burgess from the European center operating Copernicus told AFP. "They remain within the range that climate models predicted for today, but we are at the top of the range." One explanation is that the La Nina phenomenon, the opposite of El Nino and synonymous with cooling influence, has turned out to be only "weak in intensity" since December, according to the World Meteorological Organization, and could already decline in the coming months. Almost 1.4°C already A group of about fifty renowned climatologists, led by Briton Piers Forster, estimate that the climate was already warmed by an average of 1.36°C in 2024. This is the conclusion of a preliminary version of their study that annually updates the key figures from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the climate experts mandated by the UN. Copernicus has a current estimate very close to that, at 1.39°C. The 1.5°C warming threshold, the most ambitious of the Paris Agreement, is on the verge of being reached in a stabilized way, calculated over several decades, many scientists estimate. Copernicus believes that this could be the case by 2029. "That's in four years. The reality is that we are going to exceed 1.5°C," says Samantha Burgess. "At the current pace, the 1.5°C will be surpassed before 2030," also estimates Julien Cattiaux, a climatologist at the CNRS contacted by AFP. "It is said that every tenth of a degree counts," as it multiplies droughts, heatwaves, and other weather catastrophes "but currently, they are happening fast," the scientist warns. But "now, what we must try to do, is to have global warming as close as possible" to the initial target because "it's not the same if we target a climate warmed by 2°C at the end of the century or by 4°C," he recalls. That the burning of fossil fuels — coal, oil, and gas — is responsible for the bulk of the warming is not debated among climatologists. But discussions and studies are multiplying to quantify the climatic influence of changes in clouds, a decrease in air pollution, or the Earth's ability to store carbon in natural sinks such as forests and oceans. Annual records of global temperatures go back to 1850. But ice cores, ocean floor sediments, and other "climate archives" establish that the current climate is unprecedented for at least 120,000 years.
Malay Mail
08-05-2025
- Science
- Malay Mail
Earth nears 1.5°C threshold as global heatwave persists through April 2025
April 2025 was the second-hottest on record, continuing a streak of extreme global heat that has defied expectations even after El Niño faded. Scientists warn the world is on track to exceed the 1.5°C warming limit within four years, with some saying the target is no longer achievable. Experts remain concerned that rapid warming, driven by fossil fuel use and other factors, could trigger long-lasting climate consequences. PARIS, May 8 — Global temperatures were stuck at near-record highs in April, the EU's climate monitor said on Thursday, extending an unprecedented heat streak and raising questions about how quickly the world might be warming. The extraordinary heat spell was expected to subside as warmer El Niño conditions faded last year, but temperatures have stubbornly remained at record or near-record levels well into this year. 'And then comes 2025, when we should be settling back, and instead we are remaining at this accelerated step-change in warming,' said Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. 'And we seem to be stuck there. What this is caused by — what is explaining it — is not entirely resolved, but it's a very worrying sign,' he told AFP. In its latest bulletin, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said that April was the second-hottest in its dataset, which draws on billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations. All but one of the last 22 months exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the warming limit enshrined in the Paris Agreement, beyond which major and lasting climate and environmental changes become more likely. Missed target Many scientists believe this target is no longer attainable and will be crossed in a matter of years. A large study by dozens of pre-eminent climate scientists, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, recently concluded that global warming reached 1.36°C in 2024. Copernicus puts the current figure at 1.39°C and projects 1.5°C could be reached by mid-2029 or sooner, based on the warming trend over the last 30 years. 'Now it's in four years' time. The reality is we will exceed 1.5 degrees,' said Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which runs Copernicus. 'The critical thing is to then not latch onto two degrees, but to focus on 1.51,' the climate scientist told AFP. The photo taken on July 6, 2024 shows an aerial view of a partially submerged Guanyin temple in floodwaters in the swollen Yangtze River, in Ezhou, in central China's Hubei province. — AFP pic Julien Cattiaux, a climate scientist at the French research institute CNRS, said 1.5°C 'would be beaten before 2030', but that was not a reason to give up. 'It's true that the figures we're giving are alarming: the current rate of warming is high. They say every tenth of a degree counts, but right now, they're passing quickly,' he told AFP. 'Despite everything, we mustn't let that hinder action.' 'Exceptional' Scientists are unanimous that burning fossil fuels has largely driven long-term global warming that has made extreme weather disasters more frequent and intense. But they are less certain about what else might have contributed to this persistent heat event. Experts think changes in global cloud patterns, airborne pollution, and Earth's ability to store carbon in natural sinks like forests and oceans could also be factors contributing to the planet overheating. The surge pushed 2023 and then 2024 to become the hottest years on record, with 2025 tipped to be third. 'The last two years... have been exceptional,' said Burgess. 'They're still within the boundary — or the envelope — of what climate models predicted we could be in right now. But we're at the upper end of that envelope.' She said that 'the current rate of warming has accelerated, but whether that's true over the long term, I'm not comfortable saying that', adding that more data was needed. Copernicus records go back to 1940, but other sources of climate data — such as ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons — allow scientists to expand their conclusions using evidence from much further into the past. Scientists say the current period is likely to be the warmest the Earth has been for the last 125,000 years. — AFP
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Earth Day marks the chance to help save the planet. The environment was already on the edge before Trump took office
Tuesday marks the 55th anniversary of the United States' Earth Day movement. As the world continues to get hotter and hotter, each passing day is but another that could be used to combat the terrifying and existential threat of human-caused climate change. Climate change is expected to make raging wildfires more frequent, flash floods more severe, hurricanes stronger, droughts more persistent,and disproportionately affect Americans based on their socioeconomic status and location. The migration away from coasts has already begun, with 3.2 million people believed to have moved in an effort to escape flooding rainfall over the past two decades. Even before the potentially devastating environmental policy implemented by the Trump administration, scientists had warned that the planet's biggest lines of defense against the climate crisis – our natural carbon sinks that support Earth's life-sustaining carbon cycle – could be starting to fail. 'Carbon sinks' are reservoirs that absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release. Earth's oceans and forests are the biggest carbon sinks, and levels are the highest ever. The greenhouse gas is the main culprit for Earth's warming thanks to emissions from the fossil fuel industry. Because humans emit more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than natural sinks can remove, the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continuously ticks upward. Due to the high levels of carbon, forests are reportedly barely taking any in themselves. Ocean carbon storage is weakening. 'We're seeing cracks in the resilience of the Earth's systems. We're seeing massive cracks on land … but the oceans are also showing signs of instability,' Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said last September. 'Nature has so far balanced our abuse. This is coming to an end,' he said. The U.S. is one of the biggest culprits for individual greenhouse gas emissions, and it is second only to China. While former President Joe Biden set ambitious climate goals to curb emissions – basically the only recourse to reverse course, according to climate scientists – the Trump administration has ignored and fired climate scientists and experts across fields. New Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has deemed climate change a 'religion,' ignoring the science and state of the planet in favor of President Donald Trump's energy mandates. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is doing the same, moving to open land for more drilling and mining despite proven harms and the environmental costs. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says she plans to expand domestic timber production, opening national forests to logging. Deforestation releases large amounts of carbon and can also affect the ability to soak up greenhouse gases. After 'driving a dagger' into regulations to prevent pollution, including a landmark climate finding, Zeldin wished Americans a 'Happy Earth Day.' 'From the mountains to the plains, the rivers and the oceans, across our nation's vast landscape, we all have a stake in our environment,' he wrote, adding that the administration remains 'committed to clean air, land and water for all Americans. We can and we will accomplish this goal.' But, the realities of the planet's climate peril cannot and will not be ignored. There are no boundaries to climate change. No country will be left alone. 'Over the past year, we've experienced the hottest year on record, the hottest ocean temperatures on record, and a seemingly endless string of heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires and storms,' Dr. Rick Spinrad, the former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said in a statement last summer. 'We must recognize that these are clear signals of the damage carbon dioxide pollution is doing to the climate system, and take rapid action to reduce fossil fuel use as quickly as we can.'
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The Independent
22-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Earth Day marks the chance to help save the planet. The environment was already on the edge before Trump took office
Tuesday marks the 55th anniversary of the United States' Earth Day movement. As the world continues to get hotter and hotter, each passing day is but another that could be used to combat the terrifying and existential threat of human-caused climate change. Climate change is expected to make raging wildfires more frequent, flash floods more severe, hurricanes stronger, droughts more persistent,and disproportionately affect Americans based on their socioeconomic status and location. The migration away from coasts has already begun, with 3.2 million people believed to have moved in an effort to escape flooding rainfall over the past two decades. Even before the potentially devastating environmental policy implemented by the Trump administration, scientists had warned that the planet's biggest lines of defense against the climate crisis – our natural carbon sinks that support Earth's life-sustaining carbon cycle – could be starting to fail. ' Carbon sinks' are reservoirs that absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release. Earth's oceans and forests are the biggest carbon sinks, and levels are the highest ever. The greenhouse gas is the main culprit for Earth's warming thanks to emissions from the fossil fuel industry. Because humans emit more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than natural sinks can remove, the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continuously ticks upward. Due to the high levels of carbon, forests are reportedly barely taking any in themselves. Ocean carbon storage is weakening. 'We're seeing cracks in the resilience of the Earth's systems. We're seeing massive cracks on land … but the oceans are also showing signs of instability,' Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said last September. 'Nature has so far balanced our abuse. This is coming to an end,' he said. The U.S. is one of the biggest culprits for individual greenhouse gas emissions, and it is second only to China. While former President Joe Biden set ambitious climate goals to curb emissions – basically the only recourse to reverse course, according to climate scientists – the Trump administration has ignored and fired climate scientists and experts across fields. New Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has deemed climate change a 'religion,' ignoring the science and state of the planet in favor of President Donald Trump's energy mandates. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is doing the same, moving to open land for more drilling and mining despite proven harms and the environmental costs. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says she plans to expand domestic timber production, opening national forests to logging. Deforestation releases large amounts of carbon and can also affect the ability to soak up greenhouse gases. After 'driving a dagger' into regulations to prevent pollution, including a landmark climate finding, Zeldin wished Americans a 'Happy Earth Day.' 'From the mountains to the plains, the rivers and the oceans, across our nation's vast landscape, we all have a stake in our environment,' he wrote, adding that the administration remains 'committed to clean air, land and water for all Americans. We can and we will accomplish this goal.' But, the realities of the planet's climate peril cannot and will not be ignored. There are no boundaries to climate change. No country will be left alone. 'Over the past year, we've experienced the hottest year on record, the hottest ocean temperatures on record, and a seemingly endless string of heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires and storms,' Dr. Rick Spinrad, the former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said in a statement last summer. 'We must recognize that these are clear signals of the damage carbon dioxide pollution is doing to the climate system, and take rapid action to reduce fossil fuel use as quickly as we can.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Proven Ways to Collaborate Better on Climate Action
From activists to corporations, everyone is talking about how to successfully collaboration on climate solutions. Credit - Getty Images On the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly last year, the Potsdam Institute's Johan Rockström unveiled the Planetary Health Check—a science-based global initiative which showed that six planetary boundaries are nearing dangerous tipping points, threatening our future. Until now, companies, nations, and organizations have each brought their own weight to bear on this challenge. But as the science shows, and as the effects unfold, it's clear that it's not enough for the planet's leaders—from CEOs to NGOs—to act in silos. The world needs a new and bolder approach to the climate and nature crises—one that brings together different groups and unlocks the creativity needed to turbocharge climate solutions. From activists to companies, everyone is talking about collaboration as the key to climate solutions. But that's easier said than done. Common barriers to the bold cross-sectoral, cross-industry partnerships include challengings in aligning objectives, vision, and values; overcoming competitive barriers; and securing organizational buy-in, to name a few. In an effort to champion strong partnerships, earlier this year the World Economic Forum hosted its GAEA (Giving to Amplify Earth Action) Awards. This includes work by honorees Built By Nature, HYBRIT, and the Youth Climate Justice Fund—all of which are raising ambition across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. Here's what their collaborative models look like: The building and construction sector is the largest and fastest growing emitter of greenhouse gases by far, making up nearly 40% of global emissions. But what if cities could absorb carbon instead of emitting it? Built By Nature (BbN), an Amsterdam-based non-profit with the vision of a built environment in harmony with nature, is facilitating collaboration across the sector to accelerate the use of timber and other bio-based materials as an alternative to carbon-intensive steel and cement. Founded three years ago, BbN brings together developers, architects, policymakers, insurers, and financial institutions to better understand and find solutions to tackle entrenched barriers—such as restrictive building codes, outdated risk perceptions, and financing challenges. By bringing these diverse stakeholders together through collaborative national networks across multiple European cities, BbN creates the conditions for bio-based materials to scale. These networks foster peer learning, drive policy change, and surface new innovations that accelerate progress. This collaborative approach has allowed BbN to amplify its support by coordinating funding from industry, government, and philanthropic donors. To date, it has invested 6.5 million euros, leveraging an additional 6.7 million euros in co-funding, directing these resources toward targeted research and practical solutions to scale bio-based materials. And this empowers problem solving. One of the major barriers BbN's networks have addressed is the challenge of securing insurance for timber buildings. BbN convened a group of U.K.-based industry stakeholders, including developers, architects, insurers, and agents to find solutions. The resulting Mass Timber Insurance Playbook debunks misconceptions, mitigates risk, and provides guidance for unlocking insurance for bio-based construction. Without BbN's collaborative model, sectors would continue to work in their traditional silos, struggling to tackle the complex challenges of decarbonizing construction with innovative, low-carbon materials. 'Partnerships across sectors are key to our success—and our hope is that the profile that this GAEA Award provides will enable Built by Nature to attract more industry leaders, systems change pioneers and supporters to our mission,' says Paul King, CEO of Built By Nature. Increased demand for steel over the past decade has led to a rapid rise in emissions. To put steel on a net-zero emissions pathway, the world must reduce its reliance on coal—this is what HYBRIT is doing. HYBRIT brings together Swedish industry leaders SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall on a mission to replace coal with fossil-free hydrogen in steel production. What sets this groundbreaking initiative apart is its peer-to-peer collaboration model, where each partner contributes complementary expertise: SSAB's advanced steel manufacturing, LKAB's sustainably-sourced iron ore, and Vattenfall's fossil-free energy. As Anna Borg, Vattenfall CEO and TIME Magazine Top 100 Climate Leader, said at the GAEA Awards ceremony at this year's World Economic Forum Annual Meeting: 'When SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall started this collaboration in 2016 we knew that this is the business model of the future. But believing wasn't enough—we had to prove it. HYBRIT has succeeded in delivering a product with superior qualities, proven process, delivered on time and on budget.' HYBRIT's technology could reduce Sweden's emissions by 10%, but its impact extends far beyond its national borders, creating a replicable model for decarbonizing heavy industry globally. These companies, typically operating independently, are showing how collaboration can solve systemic challenges by reducing costs, mitigating risks, and combining knowledge. From setting up grassroots community initiatives to developing technological solutions to climate challenges, young people are leading the charge on climate and nature action. But less than 1% of global climate funding supports youth-led initiatives, leaving them without crucial support and the opportunity to connect with funders and donors. The Youth Climate Justice Fund (YCJF) is working to address this imbalance by advocating for youth-inclusive philanthropy and developing a pipeline for larger funders, while ensuring that young leaders have agency over how they allocate the funding they receive. As co-director Nathan Méténier highlights, 'Our model is about calling everyone in. Young people are a dynamic force, yet we're falling short in scaling support for their innovations.' Underpinned by the belief that collaboration is essential for climate justice, YCJF fosters intergenerational relationships by connecting grantee partners with experienced youth activists. It also partners with funders to pilot youth-led convenings, mobilizing resources for frontline climate initiatives. 'In just two years, we've funded 90+ initiatives across 45 countries, committing $2.1 million to grassroots solutions,' says co-director Joshua Amponsem. 'There is so much more we can all do together to support young leaders and grassroots groups whose lived experiences offer insights to achieve equitable climate action.' Across all three models—Built by Nature, HYBRIT, and the Youth Climate Justice Fund—a common theme emerges: collaboration is integral to achieving systemic change. Yet, because it's not easy to bring unlikely allies together, these initiatives offer new and innovative approaches to do so meaningfully and authentically. They also demonstrate that when different groups work together, they can pool expertise, resources, and influence to drive meaningful progress in the fight against climate change. Leslie Johnston is CEO of the Laudes Foundation. Fatou Jeng is a youth climate advisor to the United Nations Secretary General and founder of Clean Earth Gambia. 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