Seizing the climate moment
Emissions pledges must be quickly turned into action to secure a sustainable world future
Climate change is impacting every part of the world now. Last year saw a record number of climate-induced weather disasters — from forest fires, droughts and heat waves to floods in Europe and China — that affected more than 3.4 billion people, or 40 percent of the global population. The need for real, lasting climate solutions has never been more urgent. Will 2022 be the year when we reach a tipping point for climate action?
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt lives and livelihoods, it has also disrupted economies and supply chains across the world. In 2020, the year when the pandemic broke out, carbon dioxide emissions declined because of a slowdown in economic activity. That prompted many to assume that emissions downswing would become the new trend, leading to green recovery. But that did not happen, for as soon as economic activities resumed to capacity in 2021, global emissions increased.
The latest report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes clear that over the last decade we have allowed global greenhouse gas emissions to rise faster than ever before. The need to mitigate emissions and adapt to climate impacts grows day by day.
Yet, 2021 also saw many bright spots to keep the 1.5 C goal within reach, including commitments by countries, cities and companies to reduce their emissions and de-carbonize their operations.
A total of 155 countries submitted their Nationally Determined
Contributions (UN climate action plans to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts), 83 countries announced net-zero targets, and the G7 economies and China vowed to stop overseas financing of coal. Similarly, more than 1,000 cities agreed to set net-zero emissions targets, and over 2,000 companies committed to establishing science-based net-zero targets. All this signals a massive shift, which we could not have imagined even a couple of years ago.
This year of commitments culminated at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) in November 2021, where we witnessed a series of highlevel commitments to halt deforestation, cut methane emissions, increase electrification of vehicles, reduce coal consumption and more. Collectively, they signal a momentum to deliver the systemic changes needed across sectors to put the world on a more sustainable path.
Every degree matters. Before the Paris Agreement was signed, the world was on track to reach nearly 4.0 C, a recipe for the catastrophic effects of climate change. Through the power of collective global action, current policy commitments to the Paris Agreement can keep temperature rise below 2.8 C, and if all netzero emissions pledges are achieved, it would likely keep temperature rise below 1.9 C compared with preindustrial levels.
We are still not where we need to be to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, but with continued efforts to increase ambition and make commitments a reality, we know how to get there.
So the big question this year is: Will leaders of countries, businesses and cities turn their commitments into action?
We have only eight years to cut emissions in half by 2030 and just a few decades to reach net-zero emissions by midcentury. The path to net-zero is not easy, but it is possible. To make net-zero commitments credible, leaders must act quickly to match the urgency of the moment, take verifiable actions that align with 1.5 C temperature rise, and communicate progress transparently to build trust and solidarity. Many of the G20 economies are already taking action, which is essential because about 70 percent of global emissions come from these economies. The European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan have turned their net-zero commitments into law. China has vowed to peak its carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. If just the G20 economies achieve their climate action targets, including net-zero goals, the world can keep global temperature rise between 1.7 C and 1.8 C.
The G20 economies are expected to meet in Bali, Indonesia, later this year and should take the opportunity to set even more ambitious targets to build a greener future. For example, the G20 economies can work together to help third-party countries — especially least-developed countries — combat and adapt to climate change. This is especially important because the latter have contributed the least to climate change but are its worst victims.
Climate action will only be effective if we pay close attention to improving the lives and livelihoods of the people. For example, 760 million people, or 13 percent of the global population, still do not have access to electricity. Providing clean electricity for these communities will change lives while leapfrogging outdated technologies. We have seen good progress at the intersection of the environment and development: more than $450 million was announced for locally led adaptation initiatives at COP26 and we hope this momentum will continue.
As the world’s second-largest economy and a global leader in renewable energy, China’s transition can benefit billions of people within and outside the country. No wonder many emerging economies are watching how this transition takes place in China. And this transition is central to the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). How well humans and nature coexist and thrive together depends on how well this transition is achieved.
The world is watching how China completes this transition, and will learn from it. Across the globe, leaders must turn their commitment into action this year so that people and nature can coexist and thrive together.
The author is the president & CEO of World Resources Institute, a nonprofit organization working with governments, businesses and civil society to improve people’s lives and protect the environment. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.