Humanity has less than three years to reverse the curve of greenhouse gas emissions, the main culprits of climate change, if it wants to maintain a "liveable" world, UN climate experts warn on Monday in a new report.

The most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement to limit warming to +1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era is "out of reach" with current international commitments, underline the IPCC experts.

And even if the "peak of emissions" is indeed reached before 2025 and that "immediate actions" are taken, warming could reach 2°C.

"We are at a turning point. Our decisions today can ensure a liveable future," insists Giec boss Hoesung Lee.

The richest singled out

Households with the 10% highest incomes in the world alone account for between 36% and 45% of total greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change, underline UN climate experts (IPCC).

Of these top 10%, two-thirds live in developed countries.

Emissions related to the lifestyle of the middle and underprivileged classes in developed countries are 5 to 50 times higher than those of their counterparts in developing countries, also indicates the IPCC.

A "significant untapped (reduction) potential"

Acting on energy demand and the consumption of goods and services would reduce greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change by 40 to 70% by 2050, experts estimate.

"Having the public policies, infrastructure and technology to enable changes in our lifestyles and behaviors (...) offers significant untapped (reduction) potential," said Priyadarshi Shukla, one of the co-chairs of the IPCC working group on solutions to reduce the causes of climate change.

A third part

In the first part of its report published in August 2021, the IPCC pointed to the acceleration of global warming, predicting that the threshold of +1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era could already be reached around 2030.

The second, at the end of February, painted a grim picture of past, present and future impacts on people and ecosystems, pointing out that delaying action reduced the chances of a "livable future".

>> To read also: "'Irreversible' impacts: the IPCC warns of the effects of climate change"

Dependence on fossil fuels, a "madness"

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made it abundantly clear on the opening day of talks by the 195 member states of the IPCC two weeks ago: dependence on oil, coal and gas is "madness ".

"We are walking with our eyes closed towards climate catastrophe" and "if we continue like this, we can say goodbye to the 1.5°C target. The 2°C target could also be out of reach", a- he insisted, with reference to the objectives of the Paris agreement.

After more than a century and a half of development based on fossil fuels, the planet has gained around +1.1°C on average compared to the pre-industrial era, already favoring the multiplication of heat waves, droughts, storms or devastating floods. .

With AFP

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