A U.N. Climate Change report Wednesday warned that current efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions are falling short of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Photo courtesy
U.N. Climate Change
Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A U.N. Climate Change report Wednesday said global efforts to curb greenhouse gasses causing climate change are falling short of the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
While countries are "bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward," the report said combined pledges of 193 nations under the Paris Agreement could put the world on track for roughly 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century.
The U.N. report said failure to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would lead to "more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall."
"The downward trend in emissions expected by 2030 shows that nations have made some progress this year," said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of U.N. Climate Change, in a statement. "But the science is clear and so are our climate goals under the Paris Agreement. We are still nowhere near the scale and pace of emission reductions required to put us on track toward a 1.5 degrees Celsius world. To keep this goal alive, national governments need to strengthen their climate action plans now and implement them in the next eight years."
The U.N.'s COP 27 climate conference begins Nov. 6. Stiell called on governments to revisit their climate plans to make them stronger in order to close the gap between where emissions are heading and where science indicates they should be this decade.
"COP 27 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," Stiell said in a statement.
The U.N. Climate Change report synthesizes the latest available information on international efforts to reduce global warming.
The report shows current efforts are inadequate to meet the global warming target by 2030, an important goal if global warming is to be kept under 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
The report said "current commitments will increase emissions by 10.6% by 2030 compared to 2010 levels."
The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change earlier this year indicated that "emissions need to be cut 43% by 2030."
