UNESCO Motto: Changing Minds, Not the Climate

The conclusions of the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C make the strongest case yet for the UNESCO motto ‘Changing Minds, Not the Climate’.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. It provides an objective, scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts.

The IPCC report suggests the ways to measure economic success, changing how we make public policy, taking vital economic services into account. IPCC identifies several climate change impacts that could be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5ºC compared to 2ºC, or more.

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For instance, “by 2100, global sea level rise would be 10 cm lower with global warming of 1.5°C compared with 2°C.” The half a degree extra warming would affect 10 million more people by 2100 due to sea-level rise.

The number of insect species projected to lose over half of their habitats is reduced by 66% at 1.5°C versus 2°C – including pollinators that are essential to food security.

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However, limiting global warming to 1.5ºC would require “rapid and far-reaching” transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities. Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) would need to fall by about 45 % from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050.

UNESCO believes that 1.5°C target cannot be achieved without a change in mindsets, which will require enhanced efforts in education, public awareness, science, ethics, culture and communication.

UNESCO is supporting Member States’ efforts under the UNESCO Strategy for Action on Climate Change and in-line with the UNESCO Declaration of Ethical Principles in Relation to Climate Change.

Photo: UNESCO