Nevertheless, experts note that many net-zero targets remain uncertain and postpone into the future critical action that needs to take place now.
Increasing instead of decreasing
More positive trends were found in a second UN Climate Change assessment published on Wednesday looking at long-term net-zero strategies. The good news is that most of the nations who submitted a new plan strengthened their commitments, demonstrating more ambition in addressing climate change, according to the agency, which deemed this fact as a “glimmer of hope”. “This is a strong signal that the world is starting to aim for net-zero emissions”, the agency said. In less than two weeks, the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and Mr. Stiell called on governments to revisit their climate plans and make them stronger to close the gap between where emissions are heading and where science indicates they should be this decade. Mr. Stiell underscored that national governments need to strengthen their climate action plans now and implement them in the next eight years.
Glimmers of hope
In 2019, the IPCC indicated that to curb global warming, CO2 emissions needed to be cut by 43 per cent by 2030, compared to 2010 levels, but current climate plans show a 10.6 per cent increase instead. “The downward trend in emissions expected by 2030 shows that nations have made some progress this year,” said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change. Fossil fuel power plants are one of the largest emitters of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. He also called for nations to make progress in four priority areas: mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and finance. 62 countries, accounting for 93 per cent of the world’s GDP, 47 per cent of the global population, and around 69 per cent of total energy consumption, have these plans in place. “COP27 is the moment where global leaders can regain momentum on climate change, make the necessary pivot from negotiations to implementation and get moving on the massive transformation that must take place throughout all sectors of society to address the climate emergency,” he said. Tuvaluan politician, Simon Kofe, speaks on behalf of Tuvalu in a pre-recorded video for COP26.
A call for global leaders
Stiell urged national governments to show at the conference how they will put the Paris Agreement to work through legislation, policies and programs, as well as how they will cooperate and provide support for implementation. However, this is an improvement compared to last year’s report, which showed a 13.7 per cent increase by 2030, and a continued raise of emissions after 2030. “…It’s disappointing. Government decisions and actions must reflect the level of urgency, the gravity of the threats we are facing, and the shortness of the time we have remaining to avoid the devastating consequences of runaway climate change”, highlighted the UN Climate Change chief. © Unsplash/Ella Ivanescu