The world climate report calls for an immediate move away from fossil fuels. Experts say: Switching to renewables also reduces dependency on Russia and other countries.
Geneva/Berlin – According to the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, German experts are calling for an accelerated phase-out of the use of fossil fuels – also with reference to the energy industry’s dependence on Russia.
The director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Ottmar Edenhofer, explained that a new policy is needed – “and in view of the Russian aggression, one that combines energy security and climate security”.
Christoph Bals, political director of the environmental and development organization Germanwatch, called for investments to be increased in order to be able to reduce global emissions more quickly. The war against Ukraine shows “that there are two good reasons for this acceleration: A rapid phase-out of coal, oil and gas is the only way to avert an escalating climate crisis and the fastest way to stability and peace, since it is gas- and oil-rich autocratic regimes their strongest weapon.”
“Age of fossil energy is over”
The environmental organization WWF emphasized: “The age of fossil energy is over, also in view of the geopolitical turning point in Europe.”
In its report published late Monday afternoon, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that only a rapid and drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions could limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees. “We are at a crossroads,” said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. “The decisions we make now can ensure a future worth living in.” This includes in particular using significantly fewer fossil fuels in the energy sector and in transport.
The President of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Dirk Messner, told the editorial network Germany (RND) that the IPCC report clearly shows: “Only with a complete conversion of the entire human energy supply to renewable energies can we stop global warming.”
For the report, hundreds of scientists from 65 countries had evaluated tens of thousands of studies over the past few years. It is part of the 6th status report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose publications are considered the most comprehensive and internationally recognized status of climate research. The report deals with measures to mitigate climate change. The content was approved by 195 IPCC member states on Monday, including representatives from Russia and Ukraine. dpa
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