Leading scientists and climate experts have expressed concern about the outcome of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.
Those who spoke to the BBC praised the conference for getting the parties to meet again next year to promise deeper emissions cuts. And they welcome the agreement on forests, innovation, and most importantly, methane – from fossil fuels and livestock.
However, scientists worry that politicians will not succeed. And they say hopes of keeping temperatures 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels are too ambitious. Experts say the world is in a dangerously warming state with temperatures rising just 1.1°C so far, with record temperatures, wildfires, floods, and droughts.
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Seven ways to limit climate change. Professor Sir David King, a former senior British scientist, told me: “Of course, warming is already at a dangerous level. Greenland lies in the blue sea for three months and loses ice. The temperature of the polar summer is 32 ° C … the forest is burning.
A similar announcement from Prof. Pierce Forster, lead author, and coordinator of the Intergovernmental Committee on Climate Change. “With today’s temperatures, people are already dying, and species are disappearing,” he said. “We are stuck in sea-level rise for centuries.
The scientists we contacted appreciated that the COP offered a practical solution.
What relief is that after the previous 22 COPs, the need for a gradual reduction in fossil fuels has finally been mentioned – although, to horror, India and China have scaled back formulations at the last minute. And there is widespread fear that politicians will not keep their promises.
Prof. Gail Whiteman, a founder of Arctic Basecamp, said the meeting had “mixed results.” He said, “There are outstanding promises on the table – but will there be enough action? I don’t know. I’m worried.”
“But we are still targeting global warming of more than two °C, which can cause many climate turning points [when natural systems collapse due to rising temperatures]. So we are still in the climate crisis.”
“We all need to convince our political leaders to join us in this major transformation,” he added. “The international political process is slower than the climate system.”