In the view of C21, action on climate and biodiversity is extremely urgent and must be far-reaching. We have waited too long, are now in crisis, and have to act accordingly. It is 1.5°C, not 2.0°C, we must be aiming for.
More on climate & biodiversity crisis
To date, very few of the relevant stakeholders have understood the urgency and scale of the change that is needed to address the acute climate and biodiversity crisis.
We are facing a clear and present emergency, and we have to respond with tangible emergency measures. We regard this as governance failure. Still, not enough is happening, despite the science being obvious (SR1.5C report by IPCC, Emission Gap Report 2020, etc).
We should by all means attempt to stay below 1.5°C warning and must do everything to immediately halt further species loss. Already a 2.0°C warming has massively negative effects on nature as well as the economy.
For this, in our view, net-zero 2050 is no longer a sufficient target. Too much GHG budget has been used up already, the resulting uncertainties are too great. Tipping-points are looming. Almost all past predictions have told us that we were generally not ambitious enough. .
A crude measure of science-based ambition for us is -10% to -15% annual reduction in the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG, CO2e), especially critical being to achieve, at the very least, a halving of emissions by 2030.
As pointed out by Sir David Attenborough and others, we have until max. 2025 to get it right - or forever lose the chance to act.