Comment UNFCCC Global Stocktake report

“We know already we are off track for limiting temperature rises to 1.5°C. But this represents the most comprehensive and detailed evidence yet of the gaps, from those responsible for tackling them.

“We need only look around us in this hottest northern hemisphere summer, plagued with fires and floods, to see the human and financial cost of climate change. The findings of the global stocktake are clear - those costs only grow until we stop burning fossil fuels, switch more rapidly to renewables, and so get to net zero emissions.

“With two of the biggest economies on the planet competing to attract clean investment, racing to outpace China’s huge deployment of renewables, the economic opportunities are clear. The threats affect us all, even when we’re not at the sharp end of a fire or flood. The UK imports half its food from overseas; half of that from climate hotspots. Worsening climate impacts hit harvests, leading to shortages and higher prices for UK households.

“All the evidence shows acting now is cheaper than not, and this report very clearly sets the agenda for the COP28 presidency, and the task for leaders who will meet in Dubai in December to agree how to close this dangerous gap.”