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They ask for more commitment from governments for COP26

Current greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments point the planet to an average temperature rise of 2.7 degrees Celsius (° C) this century, according to a report by United Nations posted yesterday, in another warning ahead of the climate talks in Glasgow.

Governments will be the center of attention at the conference COP26 to be held next week, in what could be the last chance for the world to move to limit warming to less than 2 ° C above pre-industrial levels and, ideally, 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In August, a report from the UN warned that global warming, due to greenhouse gas emissions, could exceed 1.5 ° C in the next two decades.

However, the British Prime Minister, Boris johnson, said Monday that it is “not certain” that the UN’s most important round of negotiations since the 2015 Paris Agreement will achieve the necessary targets to tackle climate change.

And the World Meteorological Organization of the UN noted, before the two-week event that begins in Scotland, that greenhouse gas concentrations reached a record last year and that the planet is “very far” from slowing the rise in temperatures.

The annual report on the “emissions gap” of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), which measures the difference between projected emissions and those that are compatible with limiting temperature rise in this century, as agreed in the Paris Agreement, said that updated commitments only reduce projected emissions by 2030 by an additional 7.5%, compared to previous goals.

If maintained throughout this century, this would lead to a warming of 2.7 ° C, somewhat less than the 3 ° C that UNEP predicted in its last report. A reduction of 30% is needed to limit the heating to 2 ° C and 55% to keep it at 1.5 ° C.
According to the report, current commitments to net zero emissions could limit warming to around 2.2 ° C by the end of the century, but the 2030 targets do not put major emitters on a clear path to achieve this.

URGENT ACTIONS

The most recent UN data shows that 143 countries, representing around 57% of global emissions, have submitted new or updated emission reduction plans before COP26 and their total emissions are estimated to be around 9 % of 2010 to 2030 levels, if applied in your
whole.

But if all the promises of the 192 countries under the Paris Agreement are taken together, an increase of around 16% in global emissions is estimated by 2030 compared to 2010, leading to a warming of around 2.7 ° C.

“This report is another resounding wake-up call. How many do we need? The emissions gap is the result of a leadership gap,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a news conference.
China and India, responsible for about 30% of global emissions, have not yet made major commitments.

“The era of half measures and empty promises must end. The time to close the leadership gap must begin in Glasgow.”

By 2030, to reach the 1.5 ° C limit, annual greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by an additional 28 gigatons of CO2, or halved from current levels.

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