Progress of Goal 13 in 2017
A report of the UN Secretary-General “Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals“, published in July 2017, confirmed continuing global warming in 2016.
This report builds on the Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2016 by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which confirms 2016 as the warmest year on record, with a remarkable 1.1 °C above the pre-industrial period, setting a new record.
Other key findings in this report are:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) reached new highs at 400.0 ± 0.1 ppm in the atmosphere at the end of 2016.
- Global sea-ice extent dropped more than 4 million km2 below average – an unprecedented anomaly – in November.
- Global sea levels rose strongly during the 2015/2016 El Niño, with the early 2016 values making new records.
- Drought conditions predominated across much of the globe, aggravated by the El Niño phenomenon.
The report concluded that mitigating climate change and its impacts will require building on the momentum achieved by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which entered into force on 4 November 2016. Stronger efforts are needed to build resilience and limit climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
For more details on this issues see also https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg13
