NEW YORK, Dec 16 (IPS) – The writer is Deputy Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDPClimate change is the defining issue of our time. In the words of the UN Secretary General at COP27, “we are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.” Cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050 is crucial when it comes to meeting the 1.5 degrees Celsius target.