Following the release of the International Energy Agency’s latest findings on the global energy transition, Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government and CCAG founder and chair, said:
“With global temperature rise at 1.32 today we are already seeing the very real consequences of climate change right across the world and every incremental temperature rise from here will be accompanied by significant challenges, even before the 1.5 threshold let alone beyond.
”The latest report from the IEA spells it out perfectly. The energy transition is gaining momentum because low and zero-carbon technologies are commercially viable right across the world. But the IEA also shows that we will surpass 1.5 by 2030 if we don’t rapidly accelerate the pace.
”For a long time, we have talked of weening the world off fossil fuels. The reality today is that we need global leaders to go cold turkey from the money and influence of oil and gas. Ultimately, until they do, the most vulnerable in society, particularly in the global south, will pay the price.
“To stay on the present path is to forfeit a manageable future for humanity, with unthinkable consequences. We simply cannot accept countries rowing back on key climate commitments at this critical juncture in human history.”
