Goal 13: Promote actions, at all levels, to combat climate change
Climate change affects countries on all continents. It is disrupting national economies, with high costs for people, communities and countries today, and which will be even more serious tomorrow.
People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, such as changing weather conditions, rising sea levels and other even more extreme weather phenomena. Greenhouse gas emissions, resulting from human activities, are the driving force behind climate change and continue to increase. They are currently at their highest level in history. If nothing is done, the average temperature of the earth's surface is projected to rise over the course of the 21st century and likely to rise by 3°C this century – some areas of the planet are set for even greater global warming. The poorest and most vulnerable people are the most exposed.
There are currently affordable and flexible solutions for countries to become cleaner and more resilient economies. The pace of change is accelerating as more people use renewable energy and implement a variety of measures that reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts.
However, climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. Emissions are everywhere and affect everyone. It is an issue that requires internationally coordinated solutions and cooperation in order to help developing countries move towards a low-carbon economy. To deal with climate change, countries signed a global agreement on climate change (Paris Climate Agreement) in April.
Facts and figures
Thanks to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change we know that:
- From 1880 to 2012, the global average temperature increased by about 0.85°C. To illustrate, for every degree increase, the wheat harvest decreases by about 5%. Between 1981 and 200, due to warmer weather, production of maize, wheat and other major crops declined significantly globally by 40 million tonnes annually
- The oceans have warmed, snow and ice have decreased, and sea levels have risen. From 1901 to 2010, global mean sea level rose by 19cm as the oceans expanded due to global warming and melting ice. Arctic ice extent has retreated in every decade since 1979, with 1.07 million square kilometers of ice lost in each decade
- A single scenario presents itself for all: given the current concentrations and continued emissions of greenhouse gases, it is very likely that by the end of this century, the increase in global temperature will exceed 1.5°C compared to the period from 1850 to 1990 The oceans will warm up and the sea ice will continue to melt. Average sea level rise is projected to reach 24-30 cm by 2065 and 40-63 cm by 2100. Many aspects of climate change will persist for many centuries even if there are no CO2 emissions
- Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have increased by approximately 50% since 1990
- Emissions increased faster from 2000 to 2010 than in the previous three decades
- It is still possible to limit the average temperature increase to 2°C above pre-industrial levels using a wide range of technological measures and by modifying our behavior
- Considerable institutional and technological change will offer a better than ever chance that global warming will not exceed this threshold.
Achievements
13.1 Strengthen the capacity to recover and adapt to climate-related risks and natural disasters in all countries
13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.3 Enhance education, awareness, and human and institutional capacity in climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
13.a Implement the commitment undertaken by the parties of developed countries towards the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which foresees the mobilization - by 2020 - of 100 billion dollars a year, coming from all the countries adhering to the commitment, to address the needs of developing countries, in a context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency in implementation, and make the Green Climate Fund fully operational as soon as possible through its capitalization
13.b Promote mechanisms to increase effective capacity for planning and managing climate change-related interventions in least developed countries, small island developing States, with particular attention to women and youth, and local and marginalized communities.
