UNATIONAL

Outlook for 2023

Overall, the global outlook for 2023 remains bleak. Some of the inevitable and irreversible impacts of climate change that have already been set in motion will continue to wreak havoc throughout the year. That fact has been alluded to by a slew of reports that were published in 2022. A study published in the journal Science in September indicated that the Earth “may have left a ‘safe’ climate state beyond 1°C global warming” and that the risk of climate tipping points has risen rapidly as the world heats up.^[13] The authors of the study warned that five climate tipping points may already have been passed due to the 1.1°C of global warming caused by humanity to date. These included the collapse of Greenland’s ice cap, the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a key current in the Atlantic Ocean, and an abrupt melting of carbon-rich permafrost. Notwithstanding such stark warnings, one UN study published in October concluded that there was “no credible pathway in place to 1.5°C” and that progress on cutting CO2 emissions was “woefully inadequate.”^[14] The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, slated to be held in Dubai from 30 November-12 December, will provide the much needed platform for accelerated climate action. Whether or not world leaders will finally heed to the warnings of scientists and make pledges to drastically reduce CO2 emissions as a matter of urgency however remains to be seen.