Commitments already made by world governments to cut carbon emissions aren’t enough to keep global warming below the crucial 2C target – but a strong deal is still possible in Paris, says economist.
The commitments made by world governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next 15 years are not sufficient to stave off the worst effects of climate change, a new analysis by Lord Stern has found.
The study by the author of an influential report on the economics of climate change found that countries’ pledges ahead of a crunch UN climate summit in Paris this December would not keep warming below 2C, the level that previous UN negotiations have agreed on.
But Stern said he was still optimistic that a good deal could be reached in Paris.
“There is strong action coming through in many parts of the world,” he said, pointing to the rising use of renewable energy and efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions in countries from Latin America to Asia.
“It is very important to recognise that there is still time before Paris [to strengthen a potential agreement].”
The study looks at plans so far submitted to the UN , and the commitments published by other governments but not yet formally submitted.
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As we step into 2020, time has come to implement the Paris Agreement and raise climate ambition, but the geopolitical tide seems to be against it. The best way forward at this crucial juncture might be to forge a ‘climate coalition of the willing’ – recognising and streamlining actions of all actors at all levels.
For the first time in the survey’s 10-year outlook, the top five global risks in terms of likelihood are all environmental. They are: extreme weather events, failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, major natural disasters, major biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, and human-made environmental damage and disasters.
Millions of people across Sub-Saharan Africa could face grave hunger in the first half of 2020 because of armed conflict, political instability and climate change-linked disasters, a report says.
The report published by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) this month says that the countries affected will require life-saving food assistance and investment to prevent humanitarian catastrophes.
Australia is currently experiencing one of its worst bushfire seasons, with swathes of the southern and eastern coastal regions having been ablaze for weeks. As the fires have spread, there has been extensive media coverage both nationally and internationally documenting – and debating – their impacts. This Carbon Brief overview summarises how the fires – and the political response to them – have been covered by the media.