CO2 levels in the atmosphere reach a new maximum 1:29
(CNN) -
Nearly 200 countries have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis.
However, there is still a huge gap between what has been promised and what scientists say is needed, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
With just five days to go until leaders meet at the UN COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, dozens of nations have yet to officially update their emission reduction commitments, as they are supposed to do. according to the rules of the Paris Agreement of 2015.
OPINION |
Climate parachutes at COP26
Of the G20 countries, which account for 80% of global emissions, only six nations have formally increased their targets.
The report also revealed that six G20 nations, including the United States, never met their old targets.
The others were Canada, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, and Mexico.
The planet has already warmed 1.2 degrees, according to scientists.
According to the report released Tuesday, the latest set of global climate commitments is a far cry from what is needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold that scientists say the world should maintain. under.
The report concludes that the new and updated commitments on emissions will only cut an additional 7.5% by 2030, but a 55% cut is needed to meet the goal of containing warming to 1.5 degrees.
advertising
According to UNEP, with the current objectives of the countries, the world will continue to warm up to 2.7 degrees.
UN: The world plans to produce more fossil fuels 1:06
"Countries have tried, but not enough," Inger Andersen, UNEP's executive director, told CNN.
"A lot of them give a kind of kick to the can on the road, and we need to see not just promises, but real actions."
The annual "emissions gap" report points out the difference between what countries have promised and what needs to be done.
To limit warming to 1.5 degrees, UNEP notes that the world must cut current emissions in half in the next eight years.
OPINION |
It's not just carbon emissions.
Human failures are also ruining the climate
"We are nowhere near where we want to be," Andersen said.
"We want to be optimistic and say that the window is still open, that we can still do it, but it is closing very fast. The reality is that we must do it in this decade."
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries submit "Nationally Determined Contributions," or NDCs, a term that will emerge often when world leaders and climate negotiators meet in Glasgow for COP26 - a climate summit. mediated by the UN - which begins on October 31.
The NDCs establish the emission cuts expected by each country to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement, which was to limit warming to a minimum of 2 degrees, but ideally 1.5 degrees.
The UN provisional NDC register shows that there are currently 192 parties to the Paris Agreement, all of which have submitted their first NDCs.
Eritrea and Iraq are the only countries that have not yet signed the Paris Agreement, but have submitted their initial NDCs.
All eyes will be on the rich G20 countries at COP26, especially the world's largest fossil fuel emitters.
The G20 countries are responsible for around 80% of global emissions, according to Andersen.
Three of the main emitters - the United States, India and the European Union - have committed to reducing their emissions by 2030. But China does not have any plans to reduce emissions before 2030, instead it has committed to reaching peak emissions. by 2030 and to achieve net zero emissions by 2060.
The emissions gap report comes after a summer full of disasters caused by climate change around the world: while the United States has been hit by wildfires, exacerbated by incessant drought, floods and hurricanes, China and Germany have suffered deadly floods and southern Europe has fought its own forest fires.
At the Major Economies Forum in September, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that the upcoming climate summit, where world leaders will meet to discuss emissions targets, has a "high risk of failure ".
"It is clear that each one must assume their responsibilities," Guterres said.
Even UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose country is hosting COP26, said on Monday that the success of the talks will be "up in the air."
Some countries have announced other targets, including net zero emission dates, but those targets are ambiguous and outside the official NDCs.
Achieving net zero emissions, meaning that the amount of greenhouse gases removed from the atmosphere is equal to that emitted, is critical to global climate commitments.
According to UNEP, these actions, if carried out, could reduce warming by half a degree.
Although tension between the two countries has been high, the United States and China agreed in spring to cooperate on the climate crisis.
Regardless of population, China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, followed by the United States, the EU, India, Russia and Japan.
But smaller countries can also play a role: Emissions from the rest of the world combined exceed China's total carbon dioxide production.
Developing countries are most likely to suffer the worst effects of the climate crisis, despite the small amount they contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Andersen said that is why climate finance is vital - that is, funding for developing countries to fight the climate crisis.
"The poorest countries are the ones that will suffer the most, so it is essential to guarantee a degree of equity and global solidarity in financing adaptation," he said.
USA, the most CO2-generating country in history 0:53
While reducing gas emissions is critical, the emissions gap report also emphasizes the need to control a more insidious culprit: methane.
Methane, an invisible and odorless gas that is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, is the main component of natural gas that is currently used to power kitchens and heat homes.
It is also released into the atmosphere in large quantities by landfills, livestock, and the oil and gas industry.
CO2 levels in the atmosphere reach the highest level in the last 3 million years, moving the world away from climate goals
However, its life in the atmosphere is shorter than that of carbon dioxide: only 12 years compared to hundreds of years for carbon dioxide.
Scientists say that due to its short life, the immediate and strict reduction of methane would limit warming more quickly than the reduction of carbon emissions.
Andersen said that to close the emissions gap, the world needs to reimagine and reinvent all energy and transportation sectors.
"It means a fundamental review of the sectors," he said.
"The good news is that there are solutions right there, at your fingertips. We just need a few nudges and policies to set the tone."
And while there is still room to change the course of the climate crisis, Andersen added that action is necessary before 2030. If fossil fuel emissions are not reduced rapidly, the future of the Earth will be increasingly extreme.
"This is possible. We can do it, but it won't happen without real leadership," Andersen said.
"And that is where multilateral agreements matter. It will take the leadership of everyone, even the smallest countries, but above all it will take the constant, firm and supportive leadership of the G20 and other rich economies."
Climate change