The likelihood of limiting the world’s overall temperature to a 2-degree Celsius rise and avoiding the worst effects of climate change has become “ever more elusive” and will not be possible without immediate and drastic measures on a global scale, a new report by the United Nations Environmental Program warned Tuesday.
If countries stick to their current strategies, or lack thereof, for reducing greenhouse gases, levels will still be eight to 12 billion tons greater than suggested levels in 2020, according to UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2013, which incorporated 44 scientific groups across 17 countries and analyzed countries’ current pledges for emission cuts.
UNEP found in this year’s report that the “gap” between reduction pledges and the actual reductions suggested by climate experts is still widening.
Click Here: Fjallraven Kanken Art Spring Landscape Backpacks
“Achieving the 2-degree goal is with every year less possible. Emissions always rise, even though they need to sink sharply,” German Institute for International and Security Affairs researcher Oliver Geden told Agence France-Presse.
Current emissions reduction strategies will essentially “lock in” climate change and the carbon intensive energy economy that creates it, warned UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
“As the report highlights, delayed actions means a higher rate of climate change in the near term and likely more near-term climate impacts, as well as the continued use of carbon-intensive and energy-intensive infrastructure,” said Steiner. “This ‘lock-in’ would slow down the introduction of climate-friendly technologies and narrow the developmental choices that would place the global community on the path to a sustainable, green future.”
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT