The year 2024 was the warmest on record globally and the first calendar year in which the average temperature exceeded its pre-industrial level by 1.5°C, as revealed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) in its annual climate summary, published on Friday 10 January.
“High global temperatures combined with record levels of water vapour in the atmosphere in 2024 have led to unprecedented heatwaves and heavy rainfall, causing millions of people to suffer”, said Samantha Burgess, ECMWF’s strategic climate manager, quoted by Copernicus.
In response, the European Commission issued a statement reiterating its commitment to supporting global climate action and becoming climate neutral by 2050.
The co-president of the European Green Party, Ciarán Cuffe (Irish), took advantage of this announcement to accuse the European People’s Party (EPP), led by Manfred Weber, of “continuing its greenwashing”.
EPP climate policy spokesman Peter Liese (German) acknowledged that meeting the 1.5°C target seemed “unrealistic”, but called on the EU to meet its own climate targets for 2030 and 2050, with “less bureaucracy and more openness to technology”.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/ezs (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)