ECO was blown away by the SBSTA-IPCC presentation yesterday. The IPCC started off with a presentation that not only woke up weary delegates in the plenary but also woke them up (if they had somehow missed it previously) to the urgency of the need to act. The IPCC stressed that if Parties want to stay below 1.5°C and cut CO2 emissions in half by 2030, immediate action on every level is needed. They cannot start in 2029. Each year matters, just as each tenth of a degree does as well.
Some Parties questioned the feasibility of these scenarios. The SR1.5 report contains a number of pathways that could be followed to limit warming to 1.5°C, some being riskier than others. Ultimately, however, feasibility is not a question the IPCC can answer as it comes down to political will.
In terms of responding to the SR1.5, ECO expects to see the growth of political will throughout these two weeks, as negotiators streamline the text for the rulebook and when Ministers arrive to set the course to strengthen NDCs. Pursuing the most ambitious pathway to limit warming to 1.5°C has several co-benefits for people, biodiversity and future generations, and should be the moral imperative for any leader on this planet.