Report: Countries still off track in meeting global warming benchmark

The 2021 sustainable development goals (SDGs) report has found that countries are still behind on their commitment to the Paris agreement target of reducing global warming by 1.5°C.

Signatories of the Paris agreement committed to transforming their development pathways towards sustainability and to limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

To meet this target, global carbon dioxide emissions need to be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 and net-zero emissions achieved by 2050. 

However, the latest SDG report states that the target of reducing emissions and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 is not within reach. 

The report said the concentration of greenhouse gases keeps increasing, making 2020 one of the hottest years on record.

“Despite a pandemic-related economic slowdown, the climate crisis continues largely unabated. A temporary reduction in human activities resulted in a dip in emissions. However, concentrations of greenhouse gases continued to increase in 2020, reaching new record highs.” the report reads.

“It was one of the three warmest years on record, with the global average temperature about 1.2°C above the 1850–1900 baseline. The world remains woefully off track in meeting the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and reaching net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally by 2050.”

The report, however, said that regions, countries, and businesses are showing increased commitment towards climate action. 

“In the face of looming catastrophe, climate action is gaining momentum. In June 2020, the Race to Zero campaign was launched to form a coalition of businesses, cities, regions and investors around net-zero carbon emission initiatives, and set out specific near-term tipping points for more than 20 sectors of the global economy,” it reads.

“As of December 2020, over two thirds of the world’s GDP was being generated in places with actual or intended “net zero by 2050” targets, covering over half of the world’s population and emissions. 

“The report recommends that countries need to take “critical steps” and actions to “shift their economies towards carbon neutrality” if they want to reduce emissions from rising further.”

The report added that the world cannot risk a full-scale climate emergency as the global pandemic has shown humanity’s vulnerabilities and how much damage can be done by a crisis.

It therefore suggested that countries need to heed the wake-up call and seize the opportunity to rebuild in a way that will reduce emissions and increase resilience to climate change.