Despite all of the pledges to do something, the planet continues to heat up to dangerous levels despite all of the promises.
That is the UN’s most recent, frank evaluation.
More than 100 countries’ climate plans were analyzed by the organization’s specialists, who came to the conclusion that we are on the wrong track.
According to new research, global carbon emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 in order to prevent the worst consequences of warmer weather.
However, according to this latest study, emissions are on the rise by 16% over the next decade.
Global temperatures might climb by much to 2.7C (4.9F) above pre-industrial levels if current trends continue.
Patricia Espinosa, the UN’s chief climate negotiator, said the growth of 16 percent is “major cause for alarm”.
It’s a sobering reminder of the size of the task ahead at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in just over six weeks.
Global warming can be limited if governments are persuaded to reduce their emissions, which is the primary goal of the massive event.
Country carbon reduction strategies must be updated every five years as per the Paris Climate Agreement.
However, according to the UN, just 113 of the agreement’s 191 countries have come up with new pledges.
“It stands in stark contrast to scientific calls for immediate, consistent and large-scale emission reductions to prevent the most severe climatic effects and suffering, especially of the most vulnerable throughout the world.”
The British minister Alok Sharma, who will preside over the COP26 summit, stated that countries with ambitious climate change programs were “already bending the curve of emissions downwards.
Unless all countries, particularly the largest economies, act, their efforts could be in futile.
According to Climate Action Tracker, just a few of the G20’s largest industrial nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, have increased their emissions reduction objectives.
Another study by the World Resources Institute and Climate Analytics shows that China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, which together account for 33% of greenhouse gas emissions, have failed to submit updated plans.
According to the report, Australia and Indonesia have carbon reduction objectives that are unchanged from those set in 2015, although the Paris Agreement calls for a “ratchet mechanism” that gradually reduces emissions.
Rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are a top goal for the world’s poorest countries, which are most vulnerable to sea level rise and new extremes of heat and drought.
G20 countries must take the lead in decreasing emissions swiftly to address climate change, according to Least Developed Countries Group Chair Sonam P. Wangdi.
The talks would get a big lift if more aggressive goals were announced shortly, but no one knows when – or even if – that will happen.