New states’ promises are still leading the world towards a “climate catastrophe” – archyworldys

As climate disasters unleash themselves in all regions of the world, states are required to put themselves in battle order to combat this “Existential threat”, in the words of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. We are still far from it. Not only are the countries’ commitments made for 2030 leading the planet to a global warming of 2.7 ° C at the end of the century, but, moreover, they have not yet been respected. The mid-century carbon neutrality goals constitute a ” hope “, but they remain “Vague, often incomplete and not aligned with most short-term plans”, warns the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), in its annual review of climate action, published Tuesday, October 26.

His alert, and his call to take further action ” urgently “, is a warning to governments meeting from October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow (Scotland) for the 26^e world climate conference (COP26). This summit, the most important since COP21 in 2015, should result in a frank acceleration of action.

“With less than a week before COP26, we are still on the path to a climate catastrophe, Antonio Guterres warned during a press conference. As the title of this year’s report says: “The heat is on”. And as the contents of the report show, the leadership we need is missing. ”

The concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere has reached records

A strong rebound in CO emissions₂ is expected this year, after the unprecedented drop (- 5.4%) recorded in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Preliminary estimates from UNEP show that CO emissions₂ related to fossil fuels could grow by 4.8% this year, and that global greenhouse gas emissions would be barely lower than the all-time high of 2019. Despite the decline in emissions in 2020, the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere has reached new records, according to the World Meteorological Organization, and a level unmatched for at least two million years.

Each year, based on the latest data compiled by an international team of scientists, the UNEP Emissions Gap Report compares the gap between the commitments made voluntarily by states to reduce their emissions and the reduction that would be necessary to comply with the Paris climate agreement – which aims to limit the rise in temperature to well below 2 ° C, and if possible at 1.5 ° C compared to the pre-industrial era. Conclusion: if this gap has been reduced for the first time since 2015, it is still far too large.

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