UN says world must jointly tackle issues of climate change, pollution, biodiversity and land loss

By TAMMY WEBBER The the greater part comprehensive global climate assessment ever undertaken calls for a new approach to jointly tackle the the majority pressing environmental issues including environment change and biodiversity loss that threaten over million plant and animal species with extinction Related Articles It s not safe to live here Colombia is deadliest country for environmental defenders Conditions change threatens Asia s water and power systems reports warn FACT FOCUS Trump commented weaker gas mileage rules will mean cheaper cars Experts say don t bet on it Lucas Ex-climate czar Kerry working the knight shift Deadly Asian floods are no fluke They re a setting warning scientists say The U N Surroundings Assembly which the U S establishment didn t attend produced the new account this week by almost scientists from countries The issues which also include land degradation and impurity are inextricably linked and require solutions that include increased spending and financial incentives to transition away from fossil fuels encourage sustainable agricultural practices curb garbage and limit waste the authors of the U N Atmosphere Programme s Global Circumstances Outlook mentioned You can t think of weather change without thinking of biodiversity land degradation and defilement disclosed Bob Watson one of the lead authors and a former top NASA and British environment scientist You can t think of biodiversity loss without thinking about the implications of weather change and litter They re all undermining our business activity worsening strength and poverty and threatening food and water precaution and even national guard Watson mentioned Experts have warned that the world is nearing a tipping point on weather change species and land loss and other harms But efforts to address those problems largely have been pursued through individual agreements that haven t made nearly enough progress they mentioned Instead they advocate an approach that involves every area of governing body the financial sector industry and citizens and a circular economic activity that recognizes that natural support are limited What we re saying is we can become much more sustainable but it will take unprecedented change to transform these systems Watson noted It has to be done rapidly now because we re running out of time FILE People walk along a road in a village affected by a flash flood in Batang Toru North Sumatra Indonesia Dec AP Photo Binsar Bakkara File Global tipping point The document lays out a dire future if the world continues on its current path Emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases primarily from burning fossil fuels such as coal gas and oil reached a new high in despite decades of negotiations between countries to curb emissions Ten years ago almost nations signed the Paris Agreement with the goal of limiting future warming to no more than degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit since preindustrial times to avoid or lessen the bulk catastrophic effects of state change But on the current trajectory the state could warm by degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit by Watson reported Scientists say surroundings change is contributing to wilder weather extremes including more intense storms drought heat and wildfires What s more setting change is a threat multiplier meaning that it makes things like land degradation deforestation and biodiversity loss worse disclosed Katharine Hayhoe a conditions scientist at Texas Tech University and chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy who wasn t involved in the record If we don t fix surroundings change we re not going to be able to fix these other issues too Hayhoe commented Among other challenges Up to of land area globally is degraded and waste contributes to an estimated million deaths a year FILE Flood survivors use logs to cross a river in Batang Toru North Sumatra Indonesia Dec AP Photo Binsar Bakkara File Adopting a comprehensive approach would be expensive scientists acknowledge but cost far less than the harms that otherwise could effect The analysis says that to achieve a goal of net-zero emissions by and restore biodiversity about trillion in global venture is needed every year But starting in economic benefits will surpass spending growing to trillion a year by and trillion a year thereafter Nations also must look beyond gross domestic product as a barometer for economic physical condition because it doesn t measure whether rise is sustainable or recognize its prospective harms Watson revealed Environmental issues aren t the only things interlinked Watson announced He also commented governments nonprofits industry and the financial sector also must ensure that there are incentives and funding for renewable potency and sustainable agricultural practices for example University of Pennsylvania state scientist Michael Mann who wasn t involved in the review welcomed its emphasis on tackling issues across governments and society We must do what is right rather than what seems politically expedient Mann announced The stakes are just too great International cooperation falters Despite the overview s urgent call for action international cooperation is anything but guaranteed scientists say especially as U S President Donald Trump has refused to participate in numerous of the discussions FILE The Gibson Power Plant operates April in Princeton Ind AP Photo Joshua A Bickel File Trump who withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement has called context change a hoax He s promoted fossil fuel use canceled permits for renewable potency and is abandoning automobile fuel-efficiency standards International action and agreements are becoming harder and harder Watson explained noting that this year s U N situation conference in Brazil failed to move in the direction we needed it to move with stronger commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other issues Talks this summer on a treaty to address plastic corruption in Geneva ended without an agreement though a U N conference earlier in the year garnered commitments for funding to protect global biodiversity Watson announced that the U S didn t attend the intergovernmental meeting in Nairobi but joined discussions on the last day and explained they didn t agree with anything in the document Specific countries might say if the U S is not willing to act why should we act Watson noted Still he believes that specific countries will move forward while others including the U S could fall behind FILE Traffic crosses a bridge at Woodhead Reservoir in Derbyshire as England experiences a drought in Woodhead England May AP Photo Jon Super File Hayhoe the Texas Tech scientist commented that she s confident changes will happen because the stakes are becoming too great It is not about saving the planet The planet will be orbiting the sun long after we re gone Hayhoe declared The question is will there be a healthy thriving human society on that planet And the answer to that question is very much up for grabs at this point The Associated Press surroundings and environmental coverage receives financial patronage from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org