The United
Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 26, scheduled to be held later last year
is the last chance for the world to get a grip on climate change, said Alok
Sharma, UK’s minister in-charge for the climate summit in November.

Sharma’s
comment comes ahead of the release of the first part of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. According to Sharma, this IPCC report,
which will be the sixth assessment by IPCC of the human impact on climate, “is
going to be the starkest warning yet that human behaviour is alarmingly
accelerating global warming”.

The
President-designate of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Sharma
said that the world would face a climate catastrophe unless urgent action is
agreed upon this year.   

“You’re
seeing on a daily basis what is happening across the world. Last year was the
hottest on record, the last decade the hottest decade on record,” Sharma told
The Observer.

Sharma
further said that the IPCC report is going to be a wake-up call for anyone who
hasn’t yet understood why the next decade has to absolutely decisive in terms
of climate action.

“We will
also get a pretty clear understanding that human activity is driving climate
change at alarming rates. Every fraction of a degree rise (in temperature)
makes a difference and that’s why countries have to act now,” Sharma said.

Responding
to questions about his own hectic travel routine during a pandemic, Sharma
defended his actions saying that he was trying all that he could to achieve a
global consensus ahead of the talks in Glasgow.

The
November summit in Scotland will see 196 countries meet to decide upon
effective ways to combat climate change.