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By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

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Today’s newsletter has some seriously thought-provoking developments. These are  a means to take stock of where we are in the fight against global warming. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that global temperatures have a 66% chance of temporarily reaching 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2027, which means the world has failed to make sufficient progress on slashing climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

For the first time ever, global temperatures are now more likely than not to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming within the next five years, the WMO said.

This does not mean the world would cross the long-term warming threshold of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. But a year of warming at 1.5C could offer a glimpse of what crossing that longer term threshold, based on the 30-year global average, would be like.

With a 66% chance of temporarily reaching 1.5C by 2027, “it’s the first time in history that it’s more likely than not that we will exceed 1.5C,” said Adam Scaife, head of long-range prediction at Britain’s Met Office Hadley Centre, who worked on the WMO’s latest Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update.

A vegetable patch is affected by the prolonged drought, in Ronda, southern Spain May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File Photo

Last year’s report put the odds at about 50-50. Even temporarily reaching 1.5C is “an indication that as we start having these years with 1.5C happening more and more often, than we are getting closer to having the actual long-term climate be on that threshold,” said Leon Hermanson, also of the Met Office Hadley Centre.

Unlike the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s climate projections, which are based on future greenhouse gas emissions, the WMO update provides more of a prediction-based long-range weather forecast.

The WMO also found a 98% chance that one of the next five years will be the hottest on record, surpassing 2016 which saw the global temperature impacted by about 1.3C (2.3F) of warming.

Speaking of which, record-breaking heatwaves that hit large parts of South and Southeast Asia in April were made “30 times more likely” as a result of human-induced climate change, an international team of scientists said.

The region saw temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) last month, with Bangladesh at its hottest in 50 years, Thailand registering a record 45C and Laos exceeding 42C, causing widespread infrastructure damage and power shortages as well as a spike in heat stroke cases.

A team of scientists with the World Weather Attribution group studied heat and humidity levels in parts of India and Bangladesh, as well as Thailand and Laos, and concluded that they were at least 2C hotter as a result of underlying climate change, which has seen average global temperatures rise 1.2C since 1900.

Humid heatwaves that used to happen once a century in Bangladesh and India are now expected to occur every five years, while the heat in Thailand and Laos would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, the scientists said.

A view outside the United States Courthouse. Plano, Texas, U.S., January 13, 2022. Picture taken January 13, 2022. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber

Sheri Hickok, CEO at global environmental services firm Climate Impact Partners shares her thoughts on the World Meteorological Organization’s new climate report:

“We cannot keep waiting for the next warning before we mobilize immediate and impactful climate action. 

“If the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest report was not enough, then surely today’s startling findings will inject a sense of urgency.

“It cannot be emphasized enough that this is not a dress rehearsal, we must act now. 

“As the leader of an organization, my ask to other leaders is that they strive to leave a legacy of standing up, raising ambition, and taking bold strides to ensure the future of our planet. 

“The IPCC’s report gave us the answers, we must explore them, learn from peers, talk to the experts, and commit to creating a tidal wave of meaningful action now. There are so many solutions in existence, find the ones that work for you and lean in today.”

Australians are starting to buy electric vehicles in large numbers, and the government is trying to accelerate the adoption of cleaner cars, but industry executives say installing chargers rapidly enough to meet the boom will not be easy.

Expansion of public chargers is slow as operators face long delays connecting to the grid. An Evie report filed to the government funding administrator in October said the process of connecting to the grid was “expensive and inefficient”.

A man walks past a partially submerged vehicle as the River Thames overtops the riverbank at high tide in London, Britain, April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Britain is accelerating plans to protect London from flooding caused by a warming climate and rising sea levels, bringing forward its scheme of work to protect the city center by 15 years. 

London, which sits on a tidal stretch of the River Thames around 80 kms (50 miles) from the sea, is currently protected from storm surges by a 520-meter wide movable flood barrier east of the city which is raised a handful of times each year.

“Sea levels are rising at an accelerated rate across the Thames Estuary, and it is therefore essential that we act now to respond to the changing climate,” said Julie Foley, an official at the Environment Agency public body which developed the plans.

Lilly Ellis, Production Executive works on skincare products at 5 Squirrels, a skincare company, in Hove, Britain April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Anna Gordon

Apart from the whir of machines, there is silence: this is “deep work time” at British skincare maker Five Squirrels when staff strive to boost productivity so they can take Fridays off and still get a full week’s pay.

Owner Gary Conroy said his 15 workers had smashed through their targets since switching to the shorter week last June and introducing four-hour periods each day when they ignore emails, don’t answer phone calls and turn off instant messaging.

But even so, he believes there is a moral case to try a shorter week when many workers report poor mental health. “It’s been almost 100 years since we moved to the five-day week… so it’s high time that we start thinking more cogently about next steps,” he said, referring to U.S. carmaker Henry Ford and his introduction of a five-day week in 1926.

“There must be urgency in our action. The global climate crisis is more evident by the day, and today’s actions are crucial. Carbon must become a priority, equal to money in all future decision-making.”

Roland Hunziker, director of built environments at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

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