UN report: Countries off track on goals

Residents fetching water from a well at a dried-up Akwitchatis River on March 17, 2022. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

A recent report by the UN body on climate change has revealed that the world is failing to get a grip on the climate crisis.

In its latest report, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) revealed that the world remains massively off track to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoiding climate catastrophe.

It shows that global ambition stagnated over the past year, and national climate plans are not aligned with science.

"Under current national plans, global greenhouse gas emissions are set to increase 9 per cent by 2030, compared to 2010 levels. Yet the science is clear: emissions must fall by 45 per cent by the end of this decade compared to 2010 levels to meet the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

The report analyzed information from the 168 latest available nationally determined contributions communicated by 195 Parties to the Paris Agreement.

The report warns that net zero timelines must be accelerated for developed countries to meet their climate targets to achieve them.

It also calls for governments to come together to line up the necessary finance, support, and partnerships to increase ambition in their national climate plans and put plans into action.

It also calls for developed countries to deliver on their financial commitments.

"At the same time, countries must significantly boost renewable energy capacity, phase out coal and all fossil fuels in line with achieving global net zero by 2050, as part of a just and equitable transition," Guterres added.

While the report shows increased efforts by some countries, the report also reveals that much more action is needed now to bend the world's emissions trajectory downward to combat the effects of climate change.