Our collective failure to act early and hard on climate change means we now must deliver deep cuts to emissions.
Emissions at a manufacturing complex in Toronto, Canada. UN photo
Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels, leading to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts, warns a report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The annual Emissions Gap Report, which compares where greenhouse gas emissions are heading versus where they need to be, shows that emissions need to fall by 7.6 percent each year over the next decade if the world is to get back on track towards the goal of limiting temperature rises to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
If the world warms by more than 1.5 degrees, we will see more frequent, and intense, climate impacts — as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has demonstrated in several hard-hitting reports — such as the heatwaves and storms witnessed in recent years.
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“Our collective failure to act early and hard on climate change means we now must deliver deep cuts to emissions,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP’s executive director.
In December 2020, countries are expected to significantly step up their climate commitments at the UN Climate Conference — COP26 — due to be held in Glasgow.
However, the urgency of the situation means, said Anderson, that they cannot wait another year: “They — and every city, region, business and individual — need to act now.”
“We need quick wins to reduce emissions as much as possible in 2020, then stronger Nationally Determined Contributions to kick-start the major transformations of economies and societies. We need to catch up on the years in which we procrastinated,” she added. “If we don’t do this, the 1.5°C goal will be out of reach before 2030.”
The UNEP report calls on all countries to reduce their emissions and substantially increase their “Nationally Determined Contributions” (the commitments made under the Paris Agreement) in 2020, and put into place the policies to implement them.
The lead, however, must be taken by the world’s most developed economies (the G20), which contribute some 78 percent of all emissions. Currently, only five of these countries have committed to a long-term zero emissions target.
