A new report from the United Nations warns that governments worldwide are “by no means” ambitious enough to adequately address climate change and meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. To fix this, the report shows that countries need to redouble their efforts and adjust their targets by the end of this year to limit global temperature rise by the end of the century.
The NDC synthesis report analyzes the governments’ climate action plans already submitted to the UN as part of the global effort to reduce emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. So far 75 parties – representing about 30% of the world’s total emissions – have submitted their plans. A second report is expected to be released ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November.
Most of the countries included in the report improved on how ambitious they would be individually to reduce emissions, but according to the UN, the combined impact level is not good enough.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that by 2030, emissions must be reduced by about 45% from 2010 levels to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and ensure that the average temperature on Earth does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius. While most of the countries included in Friday’s report show that their individual reduction targets have improved, combined, they will only cut emissions by less than 1% by 2030.
If the world doesn’t reach its goal in the next nine years, warns the IPCC, global warming will lead to “irreversible loss of the most fragile ecosystems and crisis after crisis for the most vulnerable people and societies.”
Patricia Espinosa, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, tweeted that the new report is a “wake-up call” to the world.
“It shows that we are far from a path that will meet our # ParisAgreement goals,” she said. “In 2021, we have a rare opportunity to reverse this trend.”
In a statement, she also said that countries, including countries that have already submitted their goals, should rework their existing goals and develop plans to better support developing countries in addressing the climate crisis.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement that “2021 is a year to face the global climate emergency.”
Today’s interim report from the UNFCCC is a red warning to our planet. It shows that governments are nowhere near the level of ambition needed to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. “, said Guterres. “In their nationally determined contributions, the main emitters must meet much more ambitious emissions reduction targets for 2030 well in advance of the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow in November.”