The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The world is heading for more destructive climate impacts, even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, warns the annual Emissions Gap Report, released by the UN Environment Programme, on Tuesday.
The report, which compares where greenhouse gas emissions are heading, versus where they need to be; shows that emissions need to fall by 7.6 per cent each year over the next decade if the world is to get back on track towards the goal of limiting temperature rises to close to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
If the world warms by more than 1.5 degrees, we will see more frequent, and intense, climate impacts – as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has demonstrated in several hard-hitting reports – such as the heatwaves and storms witnessed in recent years.
“Our collective failure to act early and hard on climate change means we now must deliver deep cuts to emissions”, UNEP’s Executive Director Inger Andersen said. She added that if we rely only on the current climate commitments of the Paris Agreement, temperatures can be expected to rise to 3.2°C this century, leaving families, homes and communities devastated.
In December 2020, countries are expected to significantly step up their climate commitments at the UN Climate Conference – COP26 – due to be held in Glasgow. However, Andersen observed that the urgency of the situation means that they cannot wait another year: “they – and every city, region, business and individual – need to act now.
“For ten years, the Emissions Gap Report has been sounding the alarm – and for ten years, the world has only increased its emissions,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, adding that there has never been a more important time to listen to science and that failure to heed these warnings and take drastic action to reverse emissions means we will continue to witness deadly and catastrophic heatwaves, storms and pollution.
The UNEP report calls on all countries to reduce their emissions, and substantially increase their “Nationally Determined Contributions” (the commitments made under the Paris Agreement) in 2020, and put into place the policies to implement them.
The lead, however, must be taken by the world’s most developed economies (the G20), which contribute 78 per cent of all emissions: currently, only five of these countries have committed to a long-term zero emissions target.
The study points out that it is possible to reach the 1.5-degree goal by 2030; the technology exists, and there is increased understanding of the additional benefits of climate action, in terms of health and the economy. Many governments, cities, businesses and investors are engaged in ambitious initiatives to lower emissions.
Developing countries, which suffer disproportionately from climate change, can learn from successful efforts in developed countries, says UNEP, and they can even leapfrog them, adopting cleaner technologies at a faster rate.
The UNEP chief said that despite the figures, it was possible to avert disaster: “Because of climate procrastination which we have essentially had during these (past) 10 years, we are looking at a 7.6 per cent reduction every year” in emissions. “Is that possible? Absolutely. Will it take political will? Yes. Will we need to have the private sector lean in? Yes. But science tells us that we can do this.”
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