Highlights
- All governments need to reconsider their targets: CAT
- Optimistically global warming could be limited to 1.8C this century: CAT
- Leaders have claimed net zero target, but no plans on how to get there: CAT
GLASGOW: New national pledges to tackle climate change this decade would lead to around 2.4 degrees Celsius of global warming this century, far above safe levels, analysts predict. Climate Action Tracker (CAT) said on Tuesday that the promises by countries attending the U.N. summit in Glasgow to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 would still allow the Earth to heat up far beyond the United Nations target by 2100.
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Even with all new Glasgow pledges for 2030, we will emit roughly twice as much in 2030 as required for 1.5°C, it said, referring to the aspirational goal for warming since pre-industrial levels set down in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Therefore, all governments need to reconsider their targets, the research coalition added.
In an “optimistic scenario” where some countries’ longer-term goals to stop increasing the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – “net zero” – by 2050 or later were implemented, warming could be limited to 1.8C this century, CAT added. That forecast echoed an analysis last week by the International Energy Agency. CAT warned against assuming the longer-term pledges would be met, however, since most countries have not yet implemented the short-term policies or legislation needed for those goals.
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It’s all very well for leaders to claim they have a net zero target, but if they have no plans as to how to get there, and their 2030 targets are as low as so many of them are, then frankly, these ‘net zero’ targets are just lip service to real climate action, said Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, one of the organisations behind the CAT.
Under “business as usual”, without any of the new pledges, the world would warm up by 2.7C this century, CAT said. All scenarios will blow past the 1.5C limit that scientists say the world must meet to avert the most devastating impacts of climate change. To keep to that, scientists have said global greenhouse gas emissions, mostly carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and gas, must fall 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and hit net zero by 2050. Greenpeace said the analysis was “devastating” and called on countries to agree to update their 2030 targets every year until the gap between their pledges and the 1.5C target was closed. Some 90% of global emissions are now covered by a net zero target, but the “vast majority” of countries’ climate plans for the next decade are inconsistent with long-term net zero targets, CAT said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
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