Global: 12 months of record global heat underscores the urgency of action to deliver climate justice

In response to data provided by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which shows that last month was the hottest May on record, and that global average temperatures have been breaking records for 12 consecutive months, Ann Harrison, Amnesty International Advisor on Climate Policy, said:

“Recent floods in Brazil, Kenya and Germany, and heat waves in India, elsewhere in South Asia and in Mexico, underscore the imminent harm that will result from continued global warming unless serious and meaningful action is taken. It is more important than ever to significantly increase the economic resources needed to halt rising heat and enable communities to adapt to the realities of climate change. “Inaction will only lead to greater costs to both human rights and economies.”

It is more important than ever to significantly increase the economic resources needed to halt warming and enable communities to adapt to the realities of climate change.

Ann Harrison, Climate Policy Advisor, Amnesty International

“The populations of low-income countries are the most affected by this crisis, and those with the least means to combat it. Whoever pollutes must pay. This means that the largest historical emitters of greenhouse gases, and other states that can afford it – including some of the largest producers of fossil fuels – provide more climate finance to low-income countries.

“The only sure answer to addressing the root causes of global warming is to slowly but rapidly phase out fossil fuels and finance their gradual, fair, rapid and assured phase-out and switch to renewable energy sources. “We urge parties attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn this week to establish a clear path towards the comprehensive provision of climate finance.”

Additional Information

The Copernicus Climate Change Service, the European Union’s global climate observation programme, recorded that May 2024 has been the warmest May globally since records began. The global average temperature in May 2024 was 1.52 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, the 11th consecutive month (since July 2023) at or above 1.5 degrees Celsius, i.e. the level agreed by countries in Paris in 2016 as a limit that must not be exceeded. The global average temperature over the past 12 months, June 2023 to May 2024, is the highest on record, at 1.63 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average. Even if countries implement the greenhouse gas reduction commitments already made, the planet is on track to warm by around 3 degrees Celsius this century.