WWF Statement: IPCC's Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C

In response to the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) issued the following statements:

Lou Leonard, World Wildlife Fund’s senior vice president for climate change and energy, said: “This report shows that the world community needs to adopt a 1.5 degree global goal to ensure our collective safety and prosperity. To reach that goal, our goalpost is zero net emissions by 2050.

“In many ways, 1.5 degrees is the new two degrees. And that’s a big deal. It is now clear that the impacts we thought we’d see at two degrees will now appear at much lower temperature levels.

“This report proves that we cannot and should not throw in the towel on 1.5 degrees. The report shows that it’s possible to meet this goal relying mostly on proven technologies like dramatically scaling up renewable energy use, halting deforestation and investing in low-carbon transportation. Ultimately US federal policy will be needed to meet near term-targets, but in the meantime, US mayors, companies and governors will continue to lead America’s response.”

Chris Weber, WWF’s global climate and energy lead scientist, said: “Scientists are increasingly aware that every half a degree of warming matters. We must have laser focus on delivering on 1.5 degrees and this report provides a pathway to get there. We need to halve greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2030 and cut coal use by two thirds by the same date.

“By rapidly increasing the ambition of current climate policies, we can meet this target without over-reliance on risky and unproven technologies to take carbon out of the atmosphere.”