To date, the private sector's climate ambitions around the world have been insufficient. Every degree of warming counts. The lack of engagement of the extractive sectors, world powers, governments and a large part of the private sector remains a significant obstacle to achieving climate justice and meeting the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Businesses must act quickly. Historically, there has never been a greater commitment by the corporate sector to climate action; However, current efforts are still not enough. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reiterated in its latest reports that the globe will soon exceed an increase of 1.5°C. This will be devastating, as we can already see.

Recent examples of climate shifts are numerous and alarming:

• In June, at least four people lost their lives in floods in Germany. Thousands of people had to evacuate in flooded areas in the south of the country. After a landslide, two express cars also derailed near Stuttgart. A state of emergency was declared in fourteen Bavarian districts. Several waterways are reaching historic highs.
• In June, severe storms that prevailed in Austria's Styria and Burgenland caused enormous damage. The heavy downpour brought more than 100 mm of rain and caused flash floods.
• In May, flash floods in Afghanistan killed more than 300 people, while nearly 5,000 homes were destroyed or damaged.
• In April, the United Arab Emirates experienced its heaviest rainfall in 75 years, leading to 19 deaths in Oman due to flash flooding.
• Nearly 13 million people in Texas and Florida faced severe weather threats in May, with more than 70,000 utility customers experiencing power outages along the United States' Gulf Coast.
• Some 538,000 people were displaced and 143 killed in southern Brazil in May due to ongoing flooding, one of the largest cases of human mobility caused by climate change in the country.
• In April and May, torrential rains killed at least 260 people in Kenya, 155 in Tanzania and 29 in Burundi, while more than 200,000 people were displaced in Burundi due to rising Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.

(Alejandra Tellez, co2news.sk, more at oneyoungworld.com)