Today the World Meteorological Organisation published the news that the world is on track to breach the critical 1.5C warming threshold by 2027.
Changeworks is alarmed but unfortunately not surprised by this announcement. More action is urgently needed to decarbonise Scotland, and at Changeworks we call for the decarbonisation of homes and electrification of heat to do our part in tackling the climate emergency.
The key figure of 1.5C refers to the average rise in global temperature from pre-industrial levels. To date, human activity has warmed the planet by around 1.2C.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has repeatedly laid out the consequences of breaching this temperature limit to the international community, including severe flooding, droughts, and storms.
The gap between targets and tangible action means that globally, we are not transitioning from fossil fuels quickly enough. In Scotland, we’re also in danger of missing our climate commitments. As the Committee on Climate Change recently revealed, greater emphasis on planning and a greater sense of urgency is needed to meet our 2030 targets.
Even if this breaching of the 1.5C target is not permanent, it is part of a worrying trend. This underlines more than ever the urgency of our transition away from fossil fuels.
Changeworks is taking action, growing our activity and scaling up our reach and range of services to decarbonise homes. Scotland has the technology to deliver change fast and has already excelled at moving power generation from fossil fuels to renewables.
We need to apply that same focus, policy landscape, multi-sector engagement and financing to reducing energy demand from our homes and transitioning away from fossil fuel heating.
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