According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Earth is on “red alert”. The reason is that governments around the world fail to meet their climate change goals. He described 2021 as a “make or break year” following the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) report.
The report analyzed updated climate action plans submitted by 75 countries prior to the November COP26 climate summit. It found that current policies would not be close to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In a statement, Guterres said, “The UNFCCC’s latest interim report is a red alert for our planet. It shows the level of ambition necessary for governments to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement” Are not close. “
Under the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, all countries are committed to reducing their carbon production and reducing global warming by 2 ° C – and, if possible, to avoid the worst effects of climate change of the century. To the end – even to keep below 1.5 ° C.
Experts have repeatedly warned that higher summer and hot summers above the threshold, rising sea levels, worse droughts and extreme rains, will contribute to wildfires, floods and food shortages for millions of people.
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the population should reduce its 2030 CO2 emissions by about 45% from 2010 levels and ensure it reaches net zero by 2050 so that it reaches the temperature limit target.
Despite increased efforts, the carbon reduction plans submitted to the UNFCCC are not as strong as required. According to this report countries need to strengthen their mitigation commitments under the Paris Agreement.
The countries giving the revised Climate Action Plan constitute only 40 percent of the total signatories of the Paris Agreement and all contribute 30 percent of global emissions. According to the report, by the year 2030, as compared to 2010, these countries will be able to provide only 0.5 percent reduction.
Guterres called for increasing efforts to reduce emissions and to overcome the Kovid-19 epidemic as an opportunity.
He adds, “Long-term actions must be matched with immediate action to initiate a decade of change.”
In response to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, the report said that the report is simply a “snapshot, not a complete picture” of individual country’s plans.
The UNFCCC will issue a second report before COP26, and Espinosa urges all remaining emitters to contribute to it, for the sake of better climate.
He said, “It is time for all the remaining parties to fulfill what they promised to do and submit their NDCs as soon as possible. If this task was necessary earlier, it has become important now.”