UN climate change data: Current emissions goals not enough freep.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from freep.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The newest pledges by countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions are falling far short of what's needed to limit global warming to what the Paris climate accord seeks, a new United Nations report finds.
CO2 emissions: nations pledges far away from Paris target, says UN Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent
The first assessment of countries’ pledges to cut their greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade, a vital component of the Paris climate agreement, has found they are only a fraction of the effort needed to avoid climate breakdown.
If all of the national pledges submitted so far were fulfilled, global emissions would be reduced by only 1% by 2030, compared with 2010 levels. Scientists have said a 45% reduction is needed in the next ten years to keep global heating to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the Paris agreement.
So the U.N.’s climate chief is telling nations to go back and try harder.
The world’s pledges so far are only enough to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions to less than 1% below 2010 levels by 2030. Most countries especially top carbon polluters China, the United States and India missed the Dec. 31 deadline for submitting official emission-cutting targets for climate negotiations coming up in Scotland in November.
The world will have to cut carbon pollution to 45% below 2010 levels in order to achieve the more stringent official Paris goal of limiting future warming to another half a degree (0.3 degrees Celsius) from now, U.N. officials said.