World's Countries That Can Do Better On The Climate Crisis

The world promised to cut greenhouse gas emissions. These countries aren't meeting their targets.

John Keefe and Rachel Ramirez, October 26, 2021 (CNN)

Nearly 200 countries have pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis, but there is still a huge gap between what's been promised and what scientists say is needed…[The UN Environment Programme Emissions Gap Report 2021 found that of] the G20 countries, which account for 80% of the world's emissions, only six nations have formally increased their targets…[and] six G20 nations, including the United States, never met their old targets. The others were Canada, Australia, Brazil, South Korea and Mexico…The planet has already warmed 1.2 degrees…

click to enlarge

…[The latest pledges] fall far short of what's necessary to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels…[New and updated pledges on emissions will only cut an additional 7.5% by 2030, but a 55% cut is needed to meet the goal of containing warming to 1.5 degrees…Under countries' current targets, the world will continue to warm to 2.7 degrees…The UN's interim NDC registry shows there are currently 192 parties to the Paris Agreement, all of which have submitted their first NDCs. Eritrea and Iraq are the only countries that have not yet signed on to the Paris Agreement, but have submitted initial NDCs…

click to enlarge

All eyes will be on wealthy G20 countries [next week] at COP26…Three of the top emitters — the United States, India, and the European Union — have pledged to reduce their emissions by 2030. But China has no plan to reduce emissions before 2030, instead committing to reaching peak emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2060…[The world has been battered by wildfires, worsened by unrelenting drought, flooding events and hurricanes, is said to face a] high risk of failure…[and needs] steady, firm, and supportive leadership by the G20 and other wealthy economies…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet