The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil heat index was 139.5 degrees Farenheit during a monster spring heatwave in the aftermath of the Paris Climate Change Agreement
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the temperature felt like 139.5 degrees Farenheit on Saturday. That was the heat index, a measure of both heat and humidity that’s crucial because humidity curbs the body’s lifesaving ability to cool itself by sweating. A person died and thousands of people fainted during a Taylor Swift concert in the city. This month is a monster spring heatwave, and Brazil’s wetlands are ablaze.
This is the kind of thing that happens with just a little over 1 degree Celsius of global warming today. Now, imagine close to 3 degrees of warming. That’s the trajectory countries’ current policies lead us to, according to the UNEP analysis released today called the Emissions Gap Report.
It was frightening to discover that the system was out on Friday. The goal of the Paris accord is to prevent sustained average temperatures that high. Scientists thought the dangerous side effects from burning fossil fuels could take a long time.
“This year’s report is called a ‘broken record’ for a reason,” says Taryn Fransen, a report coauthor and the director of science, research, and data at the World Resources Institute. “Not only did the world blow past previous emissions and temperature records this year, but also as authors, we know we sound like a broken record. Year after year, we say the world is not doing enough to address climate change.”
The new range is so lower than expected that it shows how slow we are in our efforts to curb emissions and limit future warming.
That means all new oil, gas and coal extraction is essentially incompatible with avoiding catastrophic warming later this century, according to the analysis. The United States is one of many countries that still allow new fossil fuels to be mined.
Transitioning to renewables is sound economic policy with a host of co-benefits. In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the green economy, and it has already created 75,000 jobs, by one estimate. Burning less fossil fuel also improves air quality, reducing health care costs. So do it now. It’s both good news and a bit frustrating that the report shows that it’s possible, according to Anne Olhoff, chief scientific editor. There’s no excuse not to do this. Most countries and decisionmakers do not have good reasons to not do so.