Shortfall in climate action is catastrophic, UN says

Even if fulfilled, these Paris pledges with the 2C target, would see the world heat up 3C

There is a “catastrophic” gap between national pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the actions needed to cap global warming below two degrees Celsius, the United Nations’ (UN) environment chief warned yesterday, days ahead of global climate talks in Bonn.

Even if fulfilled, these pledges — inscribed along with the 2C target in the 2015 Paris climate pact — would see the world heat up 3C, unleashing deadly heatwaves, superstorms and rising seas, UN Environment said in its annual Emissions Gap report, the bleakest ever. Record-setting extreme weather in 2017 including monsoon flooding, raging fires and deadly hurricanes likely bears the fingerprint of global warming, it noted.

“One year after the Paris Agreement entered into force, we still find ourselves in a situation where we are not doing nearly enough to save hundreds of millions of people from a miserable future,” said Eric Solheim, head of the UN agency. “Governments, the private sector and civil society must bridge this catastrophic climate gap.”

Compiled by more than 200 climate scientists and experts, the annual 100-page analysis tracks progress toward the Paris goal of checking the rise in global temperatures at “well below” 2C.

With many poor nations already feeling the sting of a planet out of kilter with only one degree of warming, the treaty also vowed to explore the feasibility of holding the line at 1.5C.