Some of the world’s most famous glaciers will be gone by 2050, and the only way to prevent that is to drastically reduce carbon emissions, according to a new UN report.
A report analyzing 18.600 glaciers at 50 world heritage sites found that a third are ‘doomed’ to disappear, while the rest must be saved by keeping global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial levels.
“This report is a call to action,” UNESCO head Audrey Azoulay says.
“Only a rapid reduction in our CO2 emissions levels can save glaciers and the exceptional biodiversity that depends on them,” she adds.
Half of humanity depends on glaciers for water, agriculture, and power, and the report found that glaciers are responsible for 5% of observed sea-level rise.
“This report is a call to action,” says Azoulay, who will head to the COP27 climate summit in Egypt starting Monday.
“This report is a call to action.” Among the glaciers set to disappear: those in Yosemite National Park, the Dolomites in Italy, and Kilimanjaro National Park in Kenya.
