UN warns of widening emissions gap
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E-mail Xinhua, November 22, 2012
The goal to keep global warming in control is is further out of reach, warned a UN report released here on Wednesday, just days ahead of the next key UN climate negotiation to be held in Doha.
The Emissions Gap Report 2012, coordinated by the UN Environment Program (UNEP), argued that to achieve the internationally accepted target of keeping a global average temperature rise below 2 degrees in this century, global emissions in 2020 should be no more than 44 gigatonne (Gt) equivalent of CO2, which is against the background of 49 Gt in 2010.
However, if no swift action is taken by governments, emissions are likely to rise, reaching 58 Gt in 2020. Even if the most ambitious level of pledges and commitments were implemented by all countries, the number would be 52 Gt, still leaving a gap of 8 Gt, the report added.
That gap is 2 Gt higher in comparison with the assessment by UNEP in last year.
"The sobering fact remains that a transition to a low carbon, inclusive Green Economy is happening far too slowly and the opportunity for meeting the 44 Gt target is narrowing annually," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, who attended the press conference in London via remote video system.
"But the good news is that the scientists in the report also found there is a potential to reduce emission in transportation and power plants all around the world by around 17 Gt," said Joseph Alcamo, Chief Scientist of UNEP.
Alcamo told Xinhua that "if this potential was to be fulfilled, it would indeed close emissions gap, and we would be on the pathway to stay within the 2 degrees target."
The next UN climate negotiation, which is called COP18 as the 18th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is due to start on November 26 in Doha, Qatar.
"Governments meeting in Doha for COP18 now need to urgently implement existing decisions which will allow a swifter transition towards a low-carbon and resilient world," said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC in response to the report.
"This notably means amending the Kyoto Protocol, developing a clear vision of how greenhouse gases can be curbed globally before and after 2020," she said.
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