UN Report Warns Of Dawning Climate Disaster, Calls For Immediate Cut In Greenhouse Emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions have risen for the past decade despite the current and future threat posed by climate change, noted a United Nations report.

The UN mentioned that the world would miss a chance of averting climate change if countries do not cap their fossil fuel consumption. In the annual emission gap report, the body said that the global greenhouse emission has to be cut by 7.6 per cent, each year, every year until 2030 to restrict global temperature rise to 1.5-degree Celsius.

The earth is already more than 1 degree warmer than it was before industrialization, which is causing more frequent and severe storms, droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather.

“The summary findings are bleak,” the report said. “Countries collectively failed to stop the growth in global greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that deeper and faster cuts are now required.”

Greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 1.5 percent every year in the last 10 years. In 2018 itself, the CO2 emission recorded a new high by emitting 55.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide even after 195 countries signed the Paris treaty on climate change.

According to the Paris deal, the nations agreed to limit temperature rises above pre-industrial levels to ‘well below’ 2C and to a safer 1.5 degrees if possible.

The World Meteorological Organisation on November 25 said that the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was the highest in 2018.

The UN discovered that despite the countries agreeing to limit carbon emissions, the world is on a track for 3.2-degree temperature rise.

The body noted that though the 1.5-degree Celsius target is still achievable, the countries need to come together and shift from fossil-fueled economy to a renewable-driven one. The world economy will take a hit as most of the countries still rely on fossil fuels.

The report found that a group of the 20 wealthiest countries that make up the G20 are responsible for 78 percent of all emissions. But so far, only the EU, the UK, Italy and France have committed to long-term net-zero targets.

The report also highlighted that countries like India, Russia, and Turkey are about to meet their emissions target. However, the target set by these countries were low.

The assessment report has also provided the cost of the government’s inaction for the last ten years on climate change.

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