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Evidence related to climate change is already observed, such as droughts,
floods, and a greater frequency of extreme weather events, such as those
recorded in the last decade.
The “bomb” storm in the United States and the drought in Magallanes are also
manifestations of a changing climate. The impacts on the climate system are
also already being felt, such as glacier retreats, ocean acidification, and sea level
rise, among others. The continuous increase in GHG emissions will accentuate
warming, with irreversible impacts on nature and consequences for humanity.
The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP) on Climate Change of the United
Nations (the political-governmental body of decision makers) held recently in
Egypt did not advance as expected in the commitments of significant action by
the countries to reduce GHG emissions further. Each year, without countries
meeting
their
Nationally
Determined
Contributions
(NDCs),
the
Paris
Agreement
becomes
more
challenging
to meet
regarding
limiting
global
warming to 1,5 degrees by the middle of the 21st century, and thus contain the
impacts and taking adaptation measures. Even the 2-degree limit could be at
risk if countries do not complete their respective NDCs.
More than three decades of scientific studies and global negotiations have
passed, and the diagnosis and predictions of science have been and are on the
table for international negotiations and agreements. Based on them and other
social and economic factors linked to countries’ development, decision makers
and governments have sought ways to reduce GHG emissions, encourage
development
based
on
clean
and
sustainable
energy,
transfer technology
towards developing countries, aid for adaptation to the impacts of climate
change and, recently at COP27, the agreement to financial losses and damages
in the most vulnerable countries that are and will be affected by natural
disasters, among many other initiatives that have emerged from negotiations at
the COPs. However, despite all the advances, the concentration of CO2 has
never stopped increasing, and so has the average global temperature of the air
and
oceans.
More
is
required;
international
agreements
are
becoming
increasingly urgent to drastically reduce GHG emissions and thus comply with
the Paris Agreement. The atmosphere has no borders, nor do the changes that
occur in it or their consequences on the climate system. Therefore, to a lesser or
greater degree, we are all part of the problem but must all be part of the solution.
Since the negotiations began at the United Nations, the great challenge
posed by climate change has been how to guarantee the inhabitants of the
whole world, particularly the least developed and vulnerable countries,