United Nations says pledges to limit emissions don't go far enough

PARIS, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Plans submitted by 146 countries to cap greenhouse gas emissions do not go far enough to keep global temperatures from exceeding the danger threshold, the United Nations said.

Pledges, submitted by all developed nations and three-quarters of developing countries, deliver "sizable" emission reductions and slow emissions growth in the coming decade, but they will not be sufficient to reverse by 2030 the upward trend of global emissions, the UN's climate change secretariat said in a report released in advance of a global climate summit.

The plans, known as "intended nationally determined contributions" (INDCs), are intended to be used as building blocks for the UN's World Conference on Climate Change in Paris beginning Nov. 30, when participating countries hope to finalize a global pact.

"The [plans] have the capability of limiting the forecast temperature rise to around 2.7 degrees Celsius by 2100, by no means enough but a lot lower than the estimated four, five or more degrees of warming projected by many prior to the [plans]," Christiana Figueres of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change said.

On Oct. 1, countries worldwide, including the United States and China -- together representing the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters -- pledged to outline plans for cutting emissions. Figueres said the plans "represent a clear and determined down payment on a new era of climate ambition from the global community of nations."

"Governments from all corners of the Earth have signaled through their [plans] that they are determined to play their part according to their national circumstances and capabilities," she said. "Fully implemented, these plans together begin to make a significant dent in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions."