Sept. 18 (UPI) — The average global temperature is on a path to increase to 2.7 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century despite efforts made under the Paris Agreement on climate, the United Nations warned Friday.
A U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change analysis of climate plans for all 191 parties to the agreement indicates that global carbon emissions are expected to rise by 16% from 2010 to 2030.
The United Nations, though, said in May that human-caused methane emissions must be reduced by about 45% to keep the global temperature within the bounds of the Paris Agreement. The agreement seeks to keep the average global temperature to no more than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, ideally 1.5 degrees.
“The 16% increase is a huge cause of concern,” said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of U.N. Climate Change.
“It is in sharp contrast with the calls by science for rapid, sustained and large-scale emission reductions to prevent the most severe climate consequences and suffering, especially of the most vulnerable, throughout the world.”
The U.N. report found that among the 113 parties that have submitted new or updated Nationally Determined Contributions, there would be a 12% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 compared to 2010. All 191 parties are meant to update these plans every five years.
“The synthesis shows that countries are making progress towards the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals. This means that the in-built mechanism set up by the Paris Agreement to allow for a gradual increase of ambition is working,” Espinosa said.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned Thursday that the globe has “reached a tipping point on the need for climate action.”
“The disruption to our climate and our planet is already worse than we thought, and it is moving faster than predicted,” he said.
During a climate summit hosted by the White House on Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden set a goal of cutting global methane emissions 30% by the end of the decade. The summit was attended in person and remotely by several world leaders and U.S. officials.
Friday’s report came ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP26, which is scheduled to take place in Scotland in November.
