October 28, 2021
07:30
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The earth will warm by 2.7 ° C above expectations, according to promises made by the countries before the COP26 climate summit. Warming by 2.7 ° C is catastrophic and will lead to devastating floods, heat waves and the risk of dangerous natural phenomena.
One of the key goals of COP26 is to reach agreement on new, more drastic plans from the countries for the first time since the Paris Agreement in 2015. But despite bold commitments from the US, EU, UK, Japan and even China, the world cannot reach the objectives of the Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5 ° C or 2 ° C.
“Overall, the countries have presented stricter plans,” said Anne Olhoff of the Technical University of Denmark, one of the authors of the report. “At the same time, it’s happening too slowly. It’s like turning a supertanker – just the progress is too slow. We are taking baby steps instead of giant jumps, “she added.
In order to comply with the agreement to limit warming to 1.5 ° C, annual emissions in 2030 will need to be 28 billion tonnes lower than planned and promised. Today, annual emissions are about 40 billion tons. “It clearly shows that we are far from the goal,” Olhoff said. One key country that can change things is India, which has not yet submitted a plan for its emissions.
Another piece of optimism comes from looking at long-term national promises to reach net zero by 2050 or 2060. Brazil, China, the EU, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom are among the countries that have made such a commitment.
