“2050 is way too late” – big names divided over Australia’s climate targets

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released it most comprehensive report on global warming, put together by 234 international scientists and it’s not pleasant reading for the future

The latest United Nation’s report on Climate Change dropped yesterday, and the response has been powerful and global

Who said what, and is still hope?

IPCC climate report: Code red for humanity

Mark Howden is a climate institute professor from the Australian National University who also contributed to the IPCC report, he says the report shows with greater confidence than ever before that the world is “very unlikely to avoid 1.5 or 2 degrees of warming under the current trajectory of greenhouse emissions”.

Sarah Hanson Young joined ticker NEWS following the release of the world’s largest ever report into climate change.

This is the strongest statement on the science of climate change, and Hanson Young says it’s time to listen to the science.

The United Nation’s latest report on climate change was put together by 234 international scientists and paints an objectively dark picture of the future

“Well, in some ways, not overly surprising, but I think, a pretty dire warning for what we’re facing, not just around the rest of the world, but increasingly, here in Australia,” Hanson Young told tickerNEWS.

The Australian Greens senator says the rising temperature means an increase rate of severe drought in Australia, “that’s going to have a huge impact on the Murray Darling Basin and our food production, more bushfires more extreme weather.”

“There’s no other way around it, we have to get out of fossil fuels, and we’ve got to do it fast, we’ve got to really make deep cuts to carbon pollution. We’ve got to be doing that in the next decade. 2050 is way too late.”

Hanson Young said Australia’s Prime Minister’s is still “hedging his bets on a 2050 target, but if we wait till 2050, what this report shows is that it’s going to be way too late.”

“We will meet and beat our targets”

australian prime minister scott morrison

John Kerry is one of the most powerful voices on the issue and says the report underscores an “overwhelming urgency for action.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison fronted the media and says he’s listening but he wants a balance.

Australia’s trading partners including the UK, US, Japan and South Korea have upped their goals in an effort to limit warming.

What next?

The UN report found the world’s temperatures are likely to increase by 1.5 degrees on pre-industrial levels by 2040.

This can cause rising sea levels and more extreme weather patterns placing stress on the world’s population like we’ve seen recently in Greece, London and Australia.

Now this is all very hard to hear and paints a grim picture, but there is some good news, there’s still hope.

It’s a lot to to take in at a time when we are challenged in other ways, but when there’s hope there’s always possibility.