The 25th UN-sponsored “Conference of the Parties" [to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25)] opened in Madrid on 2 December 2019. Around 25,000 people from 200 countries are expected to attend, including some 50 world leaders (but not the US President).

 

The stakes for the planet could hardly be higher. 

In the words of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres:

• The last five years have been the hottest ever recorded.

• Sea levels are the highest in human history.

• Ice caps are melting at unprecedented speed and the oceans are becoming more acidic with all its consequences.

• Biodiversity on land and sea is under severe attack.

• In short, climate change is no longer a long-term problem. The point of no-return is in sight and hurtling towards us.

 

What needs to be done?

 

Greenhouse gas emissions must fall by 7.6% every year in the next decade.
Most countries must increase their commitments and, more importantly, their actions.
Guterres noted that "The commitments made in Paris would still lead to an increase in temperature above 3°C, but many countries aren't even meeting those commitments."

 

More about COP25:

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