EARTH DAY 22nd April 2020
This #EarthDay, while the coronavirus (COVID-19) has been spreading around the world and dominating news headlines, thoughts and attention, the need to take climate action has remained as urgent as ever.
The theme of Earth Day 2020 is Climate Action.
By the end of 2020, global CO2 emissions need to have dropped by 7.6 per cent and continue to fall by 7.6 per cent each year for us to have kept global heating under 1.5oC, according to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2019. Earth day 2020 is not just the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, but also the anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement to take climate action.
Under the Montreal Protocol:
- To date we have phased out nearly 100% of nearly 100 harmful ozone depleting substances.
- We have averted more than 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions going into the atmosphere from 1990-2010. We are expected to save over US$2 trillion by 2060 due to health and economic benefits.
- The Kigali Amendment under the Protocol is expected to avoid up to 0.4°C of global warming by the end of this century. It is vital component in the fight against climate change that continues to protect the ozone layer.
- The Kigali Amendment will also see nations reduce global-warming-inducing HFCs by more than 80% over the next 30 years and replace them with more planet-friendly alternatives.
More than 1.1 billion people face significant risks from lack of access to refrigeration and air conditioning. But we can provide the cooling people need while protecting the planet by adopting more sustainable solutions.
#ClimateAction #OzoneDay #MontrealProtocol #KigaliAmendment #GoNatRef