The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
WMO Press Conference: 'United in Science' 2024 report - 18 September 2024
Climate crisis: New technologies offer hope for global action, says UN weather agency
Amid renewed warnings from leading climate scientists that global warming could reach 3°C above pre-industrial levels this century, the head of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) insisted on Wednesday that new technologies and AI offer the opportunity to implement the drastic action needed to resist the existential crisis.
“The science is clear: we are far off track from achieving global climate goals,” said Celeste Saulo, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, she noted that 2023 was the warmest year on record “by a huge margin. Leading international data sets say that the first eight months of 2024 are also the warmest on record.”
Ms. Saulo’s warning coincided with the publication of the latest multi-agency United in Science annual report. Its release comes as huge wildfires rage across Latin America and Portugal, while central European countries battle deadly flooding in the wake of Storm Boris, with Italy now on high alert following mass evacuations in Poland, Czech Republic, Austria and Romania.
Despite progress made in mitigating global greenhouse gas emissions, “the emissions gap remains high”, the WMO-partnered report notes. It further warns that if there is no change to current policies, there is a 66 per cent probability that global warming will reach 3°C this century.
Despite the troubling clarity of science, the report offers grounds for hope. “When the Paris Agreement was adopted, greenhouse gas emissions were projected to increase by 16 per cent by 2030, relatively to 2015,” explained the WMO chief. “Now, that projected increase is three per cent. So, progress has been made, but we need to be much more ambitious. The gap between aspiration and reality is a glaring one.”
New technologies and innovation are potential game-changers
In a call for global and urgent action coinciding with the upcoming Summit of the Future at UN headquarters in New York on 22-23 September, the UN weather agency underscored the untapped potential of natural and social sciences, new technology and innovation to help countries develop, reduce their vulnerability to disaster and adapt to climate change.
Space-based Earth observations are part of the solutions highlighted in the report, as they are crucial for effective weather forecasting, climate prediction and environmental monitoring. “Satellites are improving our ability to monitor greenhouse gas emissions, which is crucial for informing our efforts to mitigate emissions and to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement,” explained Lauren Stuart, scientific coordinator at WMO.
Another example is “immersive technologies, which are bridging the digital and the physical worlds. And an example of this is what we call ‘digital twins’, which is basically a digital replication of the Earth.” Digital twins create a virtual real-world system to simulate how reality would respond in any given situation. The metaverse gather virtual worlds into an “integrative system” that provides immersive experiences from simulating flood and drought events to predicting water flow and impacts on land. These technologies enable experts to take decisions towards achieving the universally agreed Sustainable Development Goals.
Ms. Saulo insisted that technology alone will not be enough to solve climate change and disaster risk reduction as she urged all countries to share their expertise and experiences at the Summit of the Future. “I do trust in governments. I do trust in multilateralism. I do trust in the Summit of the Future and how this will help us address, use the technology for the better while controlling the negative impacts of technology,” she emphasized.
The UN weather agency chief underscored the need for a “transdisciplinary approach”, where a diversity of actors including scientists, policymakers, indigenous communities and civil society groups create solutions together. “Science should not be kept in a box for a few of us. Science should be the driving mechanism all around the world to really transform and give more opportunities for the generations to come.”
Ends.
Story: “'United in Science' report - WMO” – 18 September 2024
Speakers:
- Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- Lauren Stuart, scientific coordinator at the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
TRT: 02’26”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 18 September 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
- Wide shot of the press conference room with speakers at the podium.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “The science is clear: we are far off track from achieving global climate goals. 2023 was the warmest year on record by a huge margin. Leading international data sets say that the first eight months of 2024 are also the warmest on record.”
- Medium shot of the podium with speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Celeste Saulo, WMO Secretary-General: “When the Paris Agreement was adopted, greenhouse gas emissions were projected to increase by 16 per cent by 2030 relatively to 2015. Now, that projected increase is three per cent. So, progress has been made, but we need to be much more ambitious. The gap between aspiration and reality is a glaring one.”
- Medium shot of the speakers from the back and press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Lauren Stuart, scientific coordinator at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Satellites are improving our ability to monitor greenhouse gas emissions, which is crucial for informing our efforts to mitigate emissions and to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Another example we highlight is immersive technologies, which are really bridging the digital and the physical worlds. And an example of this is what we call ‘digital twins’, which is basically a digital replication of the earth.”
- Wide lateral shot: journalists at the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Celeste Saulo, WMO Secretary-General: “I do trust in governments. I do trust in multilateralism. I do trust in the Summit of the Future and how this will help us address, use the technology for the better while controlling the negative impacts of technology.”
- Wide shot of the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Celeste Saulo, WMO Secretary-General: “Science should not be kept in a box for a few of us. Science should be the driving mechanism all around the world to really transform and give more opportunities for the generations to come.”
- Various shots of the press conference room with journalists taking notes and cameraperson.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UNHCR , UNRWA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | BRS
2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs)
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP , UNHCR , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WFP
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, attended by the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP).
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UNDP , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNWOMEN
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Development Programme, UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.