The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has reported that the world is not on track to meet long-term climate goals under the Paris Agreement. This emerges from the first official review that was published on this matter.
“Unlike predicted,” the Paris Agreement has enabled “near-universal” contributions to climate change that “significantly reduced projections for future warming,” says the technical report published by the Bonn, Germany-based organization.
However, “the world is not on track” to achieve the long-term goals of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, says the document, which lays the foundation for the next COP28 in Dubai The evaluation round, known as the Global Stocktake, has been completed.
Emissions
Global emissions are not in line with the mitigation models that will allow us to meet these targets, and the window of opportunity to implement existing commitments “is closing fast,” he warns.
Based on current national targets, the report estimates that the difference between required emissions and those needed to limit global warming will be the equivalent of 20.3 to 23.9 gigatons of carbon dioxide in 2030.
At the national level, there is a need to increase ambition in implementing mitigation measures.
Achieving zero CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions is therefore only possible through a systemic transformation of all sectors, which includes, among other things, abandoning fossil fuels and promoting renewable energies.
Damage
In the area of loss and damage caused by climate change, the report notes that urgent action is needed to reduce its impact, particularly for those least prepared for change and least able to recover from natural disasters.
However, most adaptation measures observed so far are “fragmented and incremental, sector-specific and unevenly distributed across different regions”.
In the area of implementation, the report emphasizes the need to mobilize resources more quickly to support climate action in developing countries and strengthen cooperation in the development of clean technologies
The report is based on data from member countries and organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), summarized in 17 key points.
World balance
It is part of the process known as the global assessment, the first round of which will be completed next December in Dubai, where more than 200 countries will assess the progress made so far at COP28.
“A whole-of-society approach is needed as the window of opportunity is closing quite quickly,” said the deputy chair of IPCC Working Group 1. Mohammad Tariqin a virtual press conference.
Tariq stressed that the public and private sectors, academia and civil society, among others, must be involved in the “only way forward”, otherwise the consequences of the climate crisis will be so great that no one will be able to control it she.
For his part, Tom Evans, climate policy expert at the think tank EG3, said that the governments that will take part in COP28 have “done their homework” with this report.
“In Dubai, countries must agree on an ambitious package of measures that can provide a rapid response plan to make the report’s recommendations a reality,” he said, according to a statement.
The 2015 Paris Agreement stipulates that the first assessment of progress will take place in 2023 and every five years thereafter.
This first balance must in turn influence the new national emissions reduction targets that countries must submit in 2025.
