U.N.: 2017 Among Hottest Years on Record

Post date: Nov 7, 2017 4:20:56 PM

2017 is set to be in top three hottest years, with record-breaking extreme weather

The United Nations said Monday that 2017 will be among the hottest years on record. The announcement came as nearly 200 countries gathered in Bonn, Germany, for the beginning of this year’s U.N. climate talks. This is the secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas.

Petteri Taalas: “If we are successful in implementation of Paris Agreement around 2060s, we could see a phaseout of this. But if not, of course, this negative trend will continue even for thousands of years, so the lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is very long. So that’s why we have to turn this emission evolution during the coming couple of decades to be able to see this phaseout. So that’s why these Conference of Parties (COP) meetings are so critical at the moment.”

Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change which is hosting the Bonn conference, said: “These findings underline the rising risks to people, economies and the very fabric of life on Earth if we fail to get on track with the aims and ambitions of the Paris Agreement”.

“There is unprecedented and very welcome momentum among governments, but also cities, states, territories, regions, business and civil society. Bonn 2017 needs to be the launch pad towards the next, higher level of ambition by all nations and all sectors of society as we look to de-risk the future and maximize the opportunities from a fresh, forward-looking and sustainable development path, “she added.

Extreme events affect the food security of millions of people, especially the most vulnerable. A review of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) found that, in developing countries, agriculture (crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry) accounted for 26% of all the damage and loss associated with medium to large-scale storms, floods and drought.