The 13th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is focused on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Climate change poses a significant threat to sustainable development, and the goal aims to raise awareness, promote actions and mobilize resources to combat it.
Climate change is one of the most significant global challenges, and it is caused by an increase in greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The concentration of these gases in the atmosphere is increasing due to human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation and industrial processes.
The SDG 13 target is to strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries and to integrate measures into national policies and planning. This target is essential to protect people and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise, more frequent and intense natural disasters, and changes in weather patterns.
To achieve the SDG 13 target, countries need to take actions to reduce GHG emissions and increase the use of renewable energy. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the world needs to reduce GHG emissions by around 45% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Here are some statistics related to SDG 13:
1. In 2019, global GHG emissions reached a record high of 59.1 GtCO2e, and the trend continued in 2020 despite the pandemic, with emissions estimated to be around 53.6 GtCO2e. (Source: Global Carbon Project)
2. In 2020, the Arctic sea ice extent was the second-lowest on record, after 2012. The minimum ice extent has declined by 13.1% per decade since 1979. (Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center)
3. From 2000 to 2019, the number of people affected by climate-related disasters was 1.23 billion, and the economic losses were estimated at $2.97 trillion. (Source: UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction)
4. According to the Renewables 2020 Global Status Report, renewable energy capacity increased by 200 GW in 2019, and renewables now account for 72% of all new power capacity additions.
To achieve SDG 13, it is important to take collective and individual action. Governments need to implement policies to reduce GHG emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change, and individuals can reduce their carbon footprint by making conscious choices in their daily lives. The global community needs to work together to mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure a sustainable future for all.
Sources:
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal13
https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/20/highlights.htm
https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2020/10/arctic-sea-ice-at-second-lowest-minimum
https://www.undrr.org/publication/economic-losses-weather-climate-extremes-and-disasters-2000-2019
https://www.ren21.net/gsr-2020/
Author: Hello, my name is Hari Vandana Konda and I am an IT and cloud sustainability enthusiast with a passion for maximizing the impact of technology in our world. I am a certified professional in Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Oracle. In addition, I am also a certified FinOps Practitioner which has given me a unique perspective on managing cloud costs and optimizing the overall financial health of organizations. My expertise in these cloud platforms, combined with my passion for sustainability, makes me an ideal author for discussions surrounding the intersection of technology and the environment.
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