LONDON, Oct 20 - Global warming from fossil fuel emissions is accelerating, pushing many of the Earth's most important ecosystems close to tipping points, said the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research's director Johan Rockström.
Speaking at the Reuters Sustainability Europe conference on Tuesday, he said damage to coral reefs and the Amazon rainforest is nearing irreversibility. Parts of the Atlantic Ocean circulation system, including the current that moderates Western Europe's climate with warm water from the Caribbean, are close to collapse.
Ahead of the United Nations' COP31 climate talks starting on November 9, Rockström added that the latest science confirms the world is on course to exceed a 1.5°C rise in average surface temperature in the next few years, increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
Companies looking to prepare and build resilience into their operations should treat climate and nature as a single integrated agenda rather than separate issues.
While prioritising efforts to decarbonise, they should also invest in preserving nature, particularly projects that maintain or rebuild biodiversity and freshwater reserves.
He noted that it is "incredibly disturbing" to see lobbying to ease rules on phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles, pointing to subsidies for petrol and diesel that were undermining consumer demand for electric vehicles.