Government pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions put the planet on track for an average 2.8 degrees Celsius temperature rise this century, after 'woefully inadequate' progress to curb warming, a United Nations report said.
Unprecedented action needed to prevent 'climate disaster'
Representatives from around the world will meet from Nov. 6-18 at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt to try to agree pledges to limit warming to below 2C above pre-industrial levels and ideally to 1.5C . Unless strengthened, promises so far will likely lead to a 2.8C rise in temperature by the end of the century, 0.1C higher than was estimated last year.
"We still aren't anywhere near enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions ," UNEP executive director Inger Andersen told reporters at a briefing.Global emissions in 2030 are estimated at 58 GtCO2e based on current policies. The gap between pledges and limiting warming to 2C is 15 GtCO2e a year and for 1.5C it is 23 GtCO2e a year.