UN Environment Emissions Gap Report 2016

Image

An exclusive pre-launch of the report was organized with the European Climate Foundation in Brussels on 25 October, in order to brief EU officials and other involved stakeholders ahead of the Climate Summit in Cancun Marrakesh. 

The day before the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change came into force, UN Environment launched its annual Emissions Gap Reportat an event in London on 3 November, alongside the 1 Gigaton Coalition Report. 

UN Environment warned that the world should ‘dramatically’ step up its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and this by some 25 per cent more than those pledged in Paris last year, in order to be able “to meet the stronger, and safer, target of 1.5 degrees Celsius” global temperature rise.

The report finds amongst others that 2030 emissions are expected to reach 54 to 56 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent – far above the level of 42 needed to have a chance of limiting global warming to 2oC this century. One gigatonne is roughly equivalent to the emissions generated by transport in the European Union (including aviation) over a year.

According to 2016 Emissions Gap report, the world should increase its ambition to cut roughly a further quarter off predicted 2030 global greenhouse emissions and all in all grasp any opportunity towards climate action. The data for 2016 show that overall emissions are still rising, but more slowly, and in the case of carbon dioxide, hardly at all.

Moreover, further reductions should take place in the short term, for the Paris Agreement to help decelerate climate change. At the moment we are actually on track for global warming of up to 3.4 degrees Celsius and the current commitments will reduce emissions by no more than a third of the levels required by 2030 to avert disaster. Furthermore, the Kigali Amendment will take off 0.5 degrees Celsius, although not until well after 2030. Action on short-lived climate pollutants, such as black carbon, can take off a further 0.5 degrees Celsius. As a result, the report underlines the need to find another one degree from somewhere in order to meet the stronger as well as safer target of 1.5 degrees Celsius warming.

In addition, the report highlights for example how UN Environment has the ability to assist governments to ensure that the money they invest and the regulations they introduce will help to increase the scale and speed, with which those choices deliver results.

Link to the press release.

Link to the report.

Find out more here.