According to a new report from United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change, the current climate plans of the 193 signatory nations to the Paris Agreement are insufficient to achieve the goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C.
The report, titled "Nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement," analyzed the interim climate commitments made by 166 parties to the agreement and found that the current combined national pledges would put the world on track for approximately 2.5°C of warming by the end of the century, well above the levels required to avoid some of the most severe effects of climate change.
The report's release precedes the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will be held from November 6 to 18 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Last year's COP26 conference's final agreement, the Glasgow Climate Pact, included a request on countries to reassess and improve their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) until 2030. (NDCs).
However, the UNFCCC report found that relatively few nations have fulfilled their commitments to revise their NDCs.
Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Simon Stiell, stated:
"It is regrettable that only 24 new or amended climate plans have been presented since COP 26. Government decisions and actions must reflect the level of urgency, the severity of our risks, and the limited time remaining to avert the catastrophic effects of uncontrolled climate change.
However, the research did uncover some indications of improvement in countries' climate strategies. While it was estimated that current commitments will lead to a 10.6% increase in emissions by 2030 compared to 2010 levels, this represented a substantial improvement from last year's estimate of a 13.7% increase. In addition, the report forecasts that emissions will no longer increase after 2030 based on current commitments, whereas last year's assessment suggested that emissions would continue to rise after 2030.
Still said:
"The predicted decline in emissions by 2030 indicates that nations have made some progress this year." However, the evidence is unambiguous, as are our climate objectives under the Paris Agreement. We are still far from the amount and pace of emission reductions required to put us on track for a world with an average temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius."
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP27 President-Elect Sameh Shoukry called the findings "alarming" and demanded a "transformative reaction at COP27."
Shoukry declared:
"In order to address the climate catastrophe, it is necessary to increase ambition and execute solutions immediately. This entails reducing and eliminating emissions rapidly and throughout a broader range of economic sectors to safeguard us from more severe climate consequences and devastation."
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