What the new UN climate report reveals

Source: The post is based on the following articles

“What the new UN climate report reveals” published in The Indian Express on 28^th October 2022.

“The planet is counting on us to keep it liveable” published in The Indian Express on 28^th October 2022.

Syllabus: GS 3 – Climate change

Relevance: About the recent UN climate report and its impacts.

News: A new United Nations report warns that the efforts to limit global temperature rise are badly falling short of what’s needed to save the planet. The UN report comes less than two weeks before global climate diplomats will assemble at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt for the UNFCCC’s COP-27.

What are the key highlights of the UN climate report?

An improvement over past performance: The national global warming mitigation targets will increase emissions by 10.6 per cent by 2030, compared to 2010 levels. This is an improvement over last year’s assessment, which projected that emissions in 2030 will rise by nearly 14 per cent over 2010 levels.

Emissions are not likely to increase after 2030: Annual emissions of countries are yet to peak and the IPCC can’t expect a dip until the end of this decade. Further, current commitments of the countries also point to an increase of 10.6% in emissions by 2030 from their level of 2010.

Cumulative climate ambition not enough: Even if countries keep their pledges to slash greenhouse gas emissions made under the Paris Agreement, the world will still be on track for a rise of around 2.5° Celsius (not 1.5° Celsius) by the end of this century.

The report also mentioned that at least 1.1° Celsius of it has already happened. Even after 2030, the emissions curve would have taken far too long to bend.

What is the status of climate change at present?

A recent study by the World Meteorological Organization found, atmospheric levels of the three worst gases—carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide—reached record highs in 2021.

So, missing even the outer UN target of a 2° warming cap would set us up for catastrophic weather disruptions, from droughts and heat waves to freak storms and punishing floods, with large swathes of planet Earth turning unliveable and numerous species pushed into extinction.

The most vulnerable sections of the population would be the hardest hit, despite having had almost no role in climate change.

How vulnerable is the Indian subcontinent to climate change?

In India, heat waves have damaged essential food crops even as rainfall patterns turn unstable. If the scale of destruction from this year’s floods in Pakistan—1,300 dead, 30 million displaced—will be a regular impact then the subcontinent may be an early casualty.

Why do countries neglect climate targets?

At the COP-27 in Glasgow last year, 194 countries agreed to upscale their Paris Pact targets. However, only 24 of them — including India — have updated their plans. This is because,

a) Raising climate ambition requires countries to take difficult decisions in diverse areas such as agriculture, forest management, transport, and urban planning. These issues relate to people’s livelihoods and well-being and demand that policymakers balance sustainability with developmental goals.

b) Inadequate technology transfer from the developed world remains a persistent grouse of developing countries. There are fears that the ambitious targets of several countries could remain on paper if they are not matched by adequate financing.

What needs to be done to mitigate the climate threat?

Rich countries should give their share: In 2009, wealthy nations said they would give $100 billion a year by 2020 to help others out. But they have largely failed to provide.

However, considering the economic turbulence and the West is currently in a war, energy crisis and inflation issues the fund is not expected to be available sooner. What’s needed is the political will to live up to our collective responsibility.

Transform the necessary things: The world needs to transform industrial, energy and transport systems. Further, the world needs to utilise technological advances.

The principles of equity and climate justice should be acknowledged in letter and spirit.