Lhe news of the broken record arrives with a certain punctuality on the eve of COP28, the annual climate change conference which will open in Dubai on November 30th. On Friday the 17th, for the first time, the average global temperature exceeded pre-industrial levels by 2 degrees (1850-1900): +2.07 °C to be precise.
Precisely that limit which, in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the nations had undertaken not to exceed even in the worst case scenario, possibly remaining at +1.5 °C. According to the UN Environmental Programme, the Earth is moving towards this pace a temperature increase of 2.5-2.9 degrees by the end of the centurydefined as “catastrophic”.
Climate change, 2 degrees of global warming exceeded
The decidedly disheartening data has been released on social media X from the European observatory Copernicus Climate Change Service. According to provisional data, the 2 degree threshold was also exceeded on Saturday and Sunday (2.06 degrees).
For the experts it’s just yet another temperature record for this year. The month of October 2023 was in fact “1.7 degrees warmer than the average for the same month between 1850-1900”, explained Copernicus.
2023 record year: it will be the hottest in history
Furthermore, since January 1st, «they have been registered 86 days with temperatures 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels», as also underlined United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Scientists now have little doubt that 2023 will break the record of 2016 and will be first in the list of the hottest years in history since accurate and comparable measurements have existed.
Climate change and the 2030 Agenda
It should be noted that exceeding the two degree threshold does not immediately mean that the less ambitious limit of the Paris Agreement has been reached because the temperature must be assessed over several years. Of course this it is not the only objective of the 2030 Agenda that appears compromised.
The UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) has warned that we are well far from achieving even the 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions foreseen by the 2030 Agenda. With the current programs we are at a paltry 2%.