The United Nations Environment Program has released a new report with more dire news about the chances of averting climate disaster caused by greenhouse gas emissions. According to this assessment, on the current trajectory of international commitments, global temperatures will rise by more than 2.6 degrees Celsius this century. Temperature changes of this magnitude can lead to more devastating and life-threatening weather events.
UN member states are expected to submit updated nationally determined contributions ahead of the COP30 conference in Brazil next year. The NDC sets out each country’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Part of NDCs is to meet the goal set by the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and part of it is to limit global temperature rise to a less ideal 2 degrees Celsius. The goal is to keep it within. The report says it is technically possible to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, but much larger action will be needed to reduce emissions by the amount needed.
“Increased deployment of solar photovoltaic technology and wind energy could achieve 27% of total potential emissions reductions in 2030 and 38% in 2035,” the report says. I am citing this as an example. “Forest efforts could deliver about 20 percent of potential in both years.”
Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said: “In terms of our ability to save lives, protect economies, avoid damage, conserve biodiversity and quickly limit temperature overshoots, “It is important to avoid the risk of harm,” they wrote in the report’s foreword.
International cooperation, government commitments and financial contributions will also be essential to getting back on track towards the 2- or 1.5-degree target. “G20 countries, especially the largest emitters, will have to do the heavy lifting,” the report says.
If all of this sounds familiar, it’s probably because the United Nations has been issuing the same stark warning in each of its annual emissions reports in recent years. Other reports echoed their calls, including a damning study earlier this year that found just 57 companies were responsible for 80% of the world’s carbon emissions.
