Continuing with current policies means the world will be on course for a temperature rise of 3.1C before the end of the century, warns the UN Environment Program.
The amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere climbed 1.3% last year, UNEP said. The landmark Paris Agreement in 2015 set a goal to limit global warming to well below 2 °C over pre-industrial levels, and ideally to 1.5 °C. To meet the more ambitious target, countries must collectively commit to cutting emissions by 42% by the end of the decade and by 57% by 2035, compared with 2019 levels.
“We need global mobilization on a scale and pace never seen before - starting right now, before the next round of climate pledges - or the 1.5 °C goal will soon be dead,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s executive director.
The question of what more needs to be done to bend the curve of emissions will largely be left unanswered at this year’s COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, which is set to focus on how to scale climate finance from billions of dollars to trillions. A commitment to transition away from fossil fuels made at last year’s summit has been questioned by countries like Saudi Arabia.
Countries are due to come back next year with updated climate plans that are aligned with the goal of keeping a global temperature rise to 1.5 °C. The bulk of the responsibility to curb greenhouse gases lies with the Group of 20 countries, which saw emissions increase last year, accounting for almost four fifths of the total.
But while the 1.5 °C goal remains “technically possible,” the UNEP report stressed it will require massive effort, miningweekly.com notes.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
