Climate crisis: Big difference: Climate promise not enough, according to UN

NEW YORK/NAROBI – The efforts of the international community are not enough to meet the Paris climate goals, according to the United Nations.

In a report presented on Tuesday, days ahead of the climate change conference in Glasgow, the United Nations saw a big gap between national declarations and the actions needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

According to calculations, the latest climate promises made by countries will only result in an additional 7.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gases in 2030. However, a 1.5 degree target would require 55 percent and a 2 degree range would require 30 percent. The numbers go back to the update of national action plans to combat climate change, which 120 countries updated as of 30 September, according to the United Nations.

move to 2.7 degree warming

The world is still on track to warm the Earth by 2.7 degrees by the end of the century. Many countries’ climate neutrality commitments, which, if fully implemented, would reduce global warming by 0.5 degrees, could have a major impact. However, some declarations are vague or ambiguous and need to be specified.

The COP will begin next Sunday (31 October) in Glasgow, Scotland. It aims to discuss how to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era in Paris in 2015. For this, all countries should prepare an action plan. However, many states are still deficient or not going far enough.

“Climate change is no longer a problem for the future. It is a problem now,” said Inger Andersen, head of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). To still have a chance of reaching the 1.5° target, greenhouse gas emissions would need to be halved over the next eight years. “The clock is ticking hard.” The head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, Patricia Espinosa, made a similar statement on Monday: “We are not even close to where science says we should be.”

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