THE just-released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report should serve as a clear warning to world leaders that time is fast running out in the fight against global warming. The report paints a grim picture as according to the IPCC, efforts to tackle climate change will have to be more aggressive than ever if we are to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius. The average surface temperature has already increased by 1 degree Celsius and could go up further by two or three degrees—which greatly heightens the risk of extreme weather around the globe. The stakes are especially high for low-lying countries like Bangladesh where sea levels are already on the rise.

The report lays out four pathways for us to avert the ensuing global crisis. The primary and the most achievable option calls for a swift decline in CO2 emissions to avoid an "overshoot" of the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold. The international body of climate change researchers has made an urgent call for fossil fuels to be phased out. The importance of energy efficiency in transportation, land use, industries, etc., cannot be overstated. The bottom line is that there needs to be a radical reduction in energy consumption in the global economy which requires a major transformation in societies around the world.

Governments must realise that the responsibility to avert an environmental breakdown in the near future is a collective one. And political will is the number one priority. All countries, including Bangladesh, must not only enforce existing environmental laws but do much more to be energy-efficient in all sectors. Furthermore, countries like Bangladesh that are vulnerable to the myriad effects of global warming should keep up diplomatic pressure to ensure that the high carbon-emitting nations contribute their fair share to funds to protect populations at risk.