A recent UN Climate Change report shows that countries are sloping down the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, the report also underscores that these efforts are insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5 °C by the end of the 21st century.
According to this report, joint climate pledges of 193 countries under the Paris Agreement on climate change could put the world on track for about 5 °C warming by the end of this century. Along with this, this figure also shows that the current The commitments will increase emissions by 6% by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. It is also an improvement over last year’s estimates, which showed that countries were on track to increase carbon emissions by 7% by 2030. The analysis also shows that carbon emissions will no longer increase after 2030.
The IPCC report released earlier this year uses the year 2019 as the baseline. This report shows that there is a need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030. This is important to avoid the worst effects of climate change, including more frequent and severe droughts, heat waves and precipitation, to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 °C by the end of this century.
The United Nations Climate Change analyzes climate action plans known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). 193 parties to the Paris Agreement, including 24 updated or new NDCs, presented after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow.
Current long-term strategies being used to combat climate change account for 83% of the world’s GDP, 47% of the global population in 2019, and about 69% of total energy consumption in 2019. This is a strong sign that the world is starting to aim for net-zero emissions.
However, the report also noted that many net-zero targets remain uncertain and preclude significant future action that needs to be taken now. There is an urgent need for ambitious climate action before 2030 to achieve the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement.
The year 2019 has been declared as the second warmest year on record and the end of the hottest decade ever (2010- 2019). The level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and other greenhouse gases reached new records in 2019. Climate change is affecting all countries on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting human life.
As weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising and weather events are becoming more extreme. Urgent action is needed to address both the pandemic and the climate emergency to save lives and livelihoods.
The Paris Agreement, adopted under COP21, aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping global temperature rise below 2 °C from pre-industrial levels by the end of this century. The agreement also aims to strengthen the capacity of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change through appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an advanced capacity-building framework.
