We have apparently moved, as a whole planetary population, into a new situation and climate phase.
The year 2018 is on course to be the fourth warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The global average temperature for the first 10 months of the year was nearly 1C above the levels between 1850-1900.
The State of the Climate report says that the 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years, with the 2015-2018 making up the top four.
If the trend continues, the WMO says temperatures may rise by 3-5C by 2100. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said: "Climate change is a global issue, we are all failing".
"Every fraction of a degree of warming makes a difference to human health and access to food and fresh water, to the extinction of animals and plants, to the survival of coral reefs and marine life.
"It makes a difference to economic productivity, food security, and to the resilience of our infrastructure and cities. It makes a difference to the speed of glacier melt and water supplies, and the future of low-lying islands and coastal communities. Every extra bit matters."
Ireland is set to be short 95 per cent on its emissions cuts target. We’re set to achieve just a 1 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020.
As denizens of planet Earth we will all be in this boat together.
