Climate Pledges Are Falling Short, and a Chaotic Future Looks More Like Reality

Greg Lindsay, Climate Alpha's Chief Communications Officer, looks at The New York Time's recent article, "Climate Pledges Are Falling Short, and a Chaotic Future Looks More Like Reality" on the upcoming UN Conference as it relates to climate pledges.

As world leaders finalize plans for November’s #COP27 climate conference in Egypt, a new United Nations report underscores the necessity of #adaptation as well as #mitigation. Without immediate (and unlikely) drastic action, global temperatures are expected to rise between 2.1 and 2.9 degrees Celsius by 2100, well above the 1.5 C target of the #ParisAgreement. Each fraction of a degree means tens of millions more people will be exposed to climate disasters, and tens of billions of dollars will be needed to protect them.

But United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and his deputies have already warned of COP 27 being another missed opportunity to develop concrete plans for adaptation.

Developed countries have yet to offer details on their pledge to provide $100 billion for climate action in the Global South. Guterres told reporters earlier this month that adaptation and resilience must represent half of all climate finance, while Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned environment ministers this figure is “only a fraction of the $300 billion that will be needed annually by developing countries for adaptation by 2030.”

To read more on the topic, check out the original article from The New York Times. At Climate Alpha, we’re building tools to help steer adaptation efforts to regions with the highest ROI. Reach out to our team to learn more about how we can help with site selection decisions for future homes, farmland, and renewable energy production. The best time to start the climate adaptation conversation was 30 years ago in Kyoto. The next best time is now.