UN climate change report contrasts with recent EPA policy changes
A report from the international scientific authority on climate change warning consequences could be drastic if rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes are not made to mitigate global warming contrasts starkly with Trump administration policies decreasing federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. The report, released Monday, evaluates what consequences the world will face if global temperatures increase by 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius 2.7 or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit as part of a directive to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change when the Paris Climate Accord was adopted in 2015. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in June 2017, keeping a campaign promise. To prevent global warming from passing 1.5 degrees Celsius, emissions would need to decline rapidly across all of societys main sectors, such as industry, energy and agriculture, the report says. Global net emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero around 2050 to keep the warming around that level. Instead of bolstering policies that strictly limit greenhouse gas emissions, recent policy changes from the Trump administration relax those restrictions. The UN panels report names a number of ways countries can reduce emissions, including phasing out coal in the energy sector, increasing the amount of energy produced from renewable sources and electrifying transport. We appreciate the hard work of the scientists and experts, many from the United States, who developed this report under considerable time pressure, EPA spokesman John Konkus said in a statement to CNN. In accordance with IPCC procedures, the report and its contents remain the responsibility of its authors. Governments do not formally endorse specific findings presented by the authors. Konkus noted that US greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 12% since 2005. Scientists working on the report said the world is already starting to see the impact of global warming by 1 degree Celsius and warned that if countries dont intervene to hold the warming at only 1.5 degrees Celsius instead of allowing it to reach 2 degrees Celsius some of the damage could be irreparable. Every extra bit of warming matters, especially since warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius or higher increases the risk associated with long-lasting or irreversible changes, such as the loss of some ecosystems, Hans-Otto Portner, a co-chair of the panels Working Group II, one of the groups that compiled the report, said in a news release. When asked what policies the EPA has implemented to reduce emissions, Konkus said that every action EPA takes is directed to improve human health and the environment. He noted that the EPA continues to implement the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update, a regulation that addresses interstate transport of ozone pollution during summer months in the Eastern United States. Under the rule update finalized in 2016 during the Obama administration, 2017 ozone season nitrogen oxide emissions were 21% below 2016 levels. In the first half of 2018, there has been a 4% reduction in nitrogen oxide compared with the first half of 2017, according to Konkus.