Reactions to the climate report: "Must be the death knell for coal and other fossil fuels"

After the alarming report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the drastic consequences of climate change, UN Secretary General António Guterres called political decision-makers to account.

"The alarm bells are deafening and the evidence is irrefutable," he said.

The greenhouse gases are suffocating the planet and putting billions of people at risk.

"The viability of our society depends on leaders in politics, business and civil society agreeing to support policies, measures and investments that limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees," said Guterres. The solutions would be on the table. "The report has to be the death knell on coal and other fossil fuels before they destroy our planet," he said.

The rich countries and development banks would have to make more money available for adaptation to climate change in poorer countries.

The promise to raise $ 100 billion a year for climate protection and adaptation must be fulfilled.

"If we join forces now, we can avert the disaster," said Guterres.

There is no longer any room for delays or excuses.

Answers would have to be provided at the World Climate Conference in Glasgow in November (COP26).

Schulze: "The planet is in mortal danger"

Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) sees the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a warning to act quickly. "The planet is in mortal danger," said the SPD politician on Monday. "Climate change is not a future scenario, it is reality." One can only prepare as best as possible: "We are also experiencing this here in Germany: catastrophic floods after heavy rain in July, persistent drought in recent years." North America, Siberia as well as Greece and Turkey showed this. Like Guterres, Schulze spoke out in favor of a quick move away from fossil fuels: “We know how we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions: with a quick move away from coal, oil and gas,with the expansion of solar and wind power and the production of green hydrogen as a climate-friendly energy source. "

Research Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU) said that Germany would invest more noticeably in science and research. “Germany is to become the center for the development of climate-friendly technologies. As a consequence of the IPCC findings, Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) called for "a global green deal with huge private investments to expand renewable energies as well as technology transfers and an investment offensive by industrialized countries in emerging and developing countries".

Even before the IPCC report was published, Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock called for significantly more international engagement against global warming.

"The climate conference in Glasgow must become a climate-turning point," said Baerbock of the newspaper Welt (Monday edition).

"Because only then will we have the chance to move from the current over-three-degree path to the 1.5-degree path in Paris." The climate would "neither benefit from Sunday speeches nor references to other countries," emphasized the Greens -Co-chair.

"We finally have to get serious about effective climate protection measures."

Greta Thunberg: "It's up to us to be brave"

Left co-chair Susanne Hennig-Wellsow spoke out in favor of ending coal-fired power generation in Germany in 2030 and not in 2038 as previously planned. In view of the new data and information, "even the last conservative" must understand: "We can no longer wait for the market." Public transport would also have to be massively expanded.

The leading climate activist Greta Thunberg is not surprised by the findings formulated in the new report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “There are no real surprises in the new IPCC report. It confirms what we already know from thousands of previous studies and reports - that we are in an emergency, ”wrote the Swede on Monday morning on Twitter and Instagram. It is a solid but cautious summary of the current state of knowledge.

"It is up to us to be courageous and make decisions based on the scientific evidence provided in these reports," Thunberg continued. The 18-year-old added the worst effects of climate change. "But not if we carry on like today, and not without treating the crisis like a crisis."