Time is running out on the Climate Clock

Time is running out on the Climate Clock  The Verge

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Jul 23, 2023 - 05:00
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Time is running out on the Climate Clock

Time is running out on the Climate Clock

Article

The world has less than six years left to hit crucial global climate goals, according to the clock.

By Justine Calma

A digital clock displayed on a building facade reads: 06 years and 041 days.

The Climate Clock in New York City’s Union Square in early July 2023.

Image: Climate Clock

An ominous, 62-foot-long clock looms over New York City’s iconic Union Square, and it’s about to tick past a worrying milestone. It’s called the Climate Clock, and it counts down how much time the world has left to stop climate change from becoming exponentially worse.

As anyone who’s experienced the weather lately knows, the situation is already bad. The world had its hottest week on record at the start of the month, according to preliminary data, with heatwaves still smashing local records across the Northern Hemisphere. And that’s just one way climate change is bringing on dangerous new extremes.

Today, the planet is about 1.1 degrees Celsius hotter than it was before the Industrial Revolution, thanks to carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. It’s what’s driving more intense heatwaves, wildfires, storms, and sea level rise. That’s why world leaders agreed, as part of the landmark Paris agreement, to keep the planet from warming much more than it already has. Every fraction of a degree comes with more severe consequences.

The Climate Clock shows how much time is left before continued CO2 emissions lock in at least 1.5 degrees of global warming, a key threshold for global climate goals under the Paris agreement. Today, the time left on the clock falls under six years. In other words, if people keep pumping out roughly the same amount of CO2 pollution over the next five years or so, we’ll no longer be able to limit climate change to just 1.5 degrees of warming.

The Climate Clock’s founders are holding events across five continents today to call attention to the dwindling time left, calling it a Climate Emergency Day. That includes a vigil below the giant digital clock that has faced Union Square since 2020.

“The best day to have taken action was yesterday. But we’re using [climate] data to create a timeline that is empowering for governments and activists to demand change,” says Becca Richie, global community manager of the Climate Clock organization that grew after the flagship clock was set up in New York City. “It is possible to enact the solutions we need in that timeframe and stay below 1.5 degrees.”

The clock started out as an artsy form of activism. It’s supposed to be a symbol, sort of like the Doomsday Clock meant to serve as “a metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation.” The Climate Clock in Union Square was initially just supposed to be displayed during New York’s Climate Week in 2020, but it has since permanently replaced the 24-hour clock unveiled in 1999 as part of an art installation called Metronome.

The clock reflects data from the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) in Berlin. It’s not counting down to the exact date global average temperatures might rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius. Instead, it’s estimating how much time is likely left before humans produce enough carbon dioxide pollution to trigger at least 1.5 degrees of warming.

That’s under the assumption that global emissions keep up at a pace similar to 2019 before the covid-19 pandemic caused a temporary drop in pollution as economies slowed down. Unfortunately, pollution has picked back up to pre-pandemic levels. Last year was even a record-high year for energy-related CO2 emissions.

That makes every minute count on the Climate Clock. The display in Union Square also shows key benchmarks for “lifelines” that could keep the world on track to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. One of those lifelines is switching to renewable energy, and the clock periodically displays the percentage of global energy consumption sourced from renewables like wind and solar energy — a little under 14 percent today.

“Action is needed now. Energy infrastructure and structural change is not something that you do in a couple of months. It’s something that needs years,” says Sabine Fuss, who leads the working group on sustainable resource management and global change at MCC. “Even if you have marginally more time, it still means that you have to act immediately.”

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

  1. SDGs Addressed:

    • SDG 13: Climate Action

  2. Specific Targets:

    • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
    • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
    • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
    • Target 13.5: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible

  3. Indicators:

    • Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
    • Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning into primary, secondary, and tertiary curricula
    • Indicator 13.3.1: Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer, and development actions
    • Indicator 13.5.1: Mobilized amount of United States dollars per year between 2020 and 2025 accountable towards the $100 billion commitment

Analysis

The article addresses the issue of climate change and its urgency in meeting global climate goals. The Climate Clock in New York City’s Union Square serves as a symbol of the time left to stop climate change from becoming exponentially worse. This aligns with SDG 13: Climate Action, which aims to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets under SDG 13 that can be identified are as follows:

  • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
  • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
  • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
  • Target 13.5: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible

The article mentions or implies indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:

  • Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
  • Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning into primary, secondary, and tertiary curricula
  • Indicator 13.3.1: Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer, and development actions
  • Indicator 13.5.1: Mobilized amount of United States dollars per year between 2020 and 2025 accountable towards the $100 billion commitment

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators
SDG 13: Climate Action Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
SDG 13: Climate Action Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning Indicator 13.2.1: Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning into primary, secondary, and tertiary curricula
Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning Indicator 13.3.1: Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic, and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation, and technology transfer, and development actions
Target 13.5: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible Indicator 13.5.1: Mobilized amount of United States dollars per year between 2020 and 2025 accountable towards the $100 billion commitment

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: theverge.com

 

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