Health and Healthcare Systems

The world is on track to warm by 3 degrees Celsius

Evi, a 35-years-old vendor, walks with her 2-years-old daughter through water at Kali Adem port, which is impacted by high tides due to the rising sea level and land subsidence, north of Jakarta, Indonesia November 20, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan - RC2Z6K91NY4N

Last month was the hottest-ever November on record. Image: REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Reuters Staff
  • Greenhouse gas emissions reached a new high last year, putting us on track for an average temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius.
  • COVID-19 lockdowns are likely to result in just a 0.01C reduction in global warming by 2050.
  • However, green investment under government stimulus packages could cut up to 25% off emissions predicted in 2030.

Greenhouse gas emissions reached a new high last year, putting the world on track for an average temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius, a U.N. report showed.

The report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - the latest to suggest the world is hurtling toward extreme climate change - follows a year of sobering weather extremes, including rapid ice loss in the Arctic as well as record heat waves and wildfires in Siberia and the U.S. West.

Researchers at Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service said last month was the hottest-ever November on record.

"The year 2020 is on course to be one of the warmest on record, while wildfires, storms and droughts continue to wreak havoc," said Inger Andersen, UNEP's Executive Director.

Have you read?

The annual "emissions gap" report measures the gap between anticipated emissions and those consistent with limiting the global temperature rise this century as agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Under the global climate pact, nations have committed to a long-term goal of limiting the average temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it even further to 1.5C.

Emissions have, however, grown by an average 1.4 percent per year since 2010, with a steeper increase of 2.6 percent last year due, partly due to a large increase in forest fires.

Total 2019 emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) hit a new record of 59.1 gigatonnes.

This year, there has been a temporary emissions dip as economies slowed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The resulting drop in travel, industrial activity and electricity generation are likely to work out at a 7% reduction in emissions, the report said. That translates to only a 0.01C reduction in global warming by 2050.

Green investment under government stimulus packages to pull economies out of the pandemic-induced slump could cut up to 25% off emissions predicted in 2030.

Such packages could put emissions in 2030 at 44 GtCO2e - within the range that gives a 66% chance of holding temperature rises to below 2C, but still insufficient to achieve the 1.5C goal.

The United Nations and Britain are holding an online event to mark the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, and governments are under pressure to come forward with tougher climate targets before the end of the year.

A growing number of countries have committed to net zero emissions by mid-century but these need to be translated into strong near-term policies and action, the UNEP report said.

"The levels of ambition in the Paris Agreement still must be roughly tripled for the 2C pathway and increased at least fivefold for the 1.5C pathway," it added.

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

COVID-19

Related topics:
Health and Healthcare SystemsClimate ActionNature and Biodiversity
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how COVID-19 is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

What’s the difference between carbon negative and carbon neutral?

Emma Charlton

November 29, 2024

How to transform lung cancer outcomes in low- and middle-income countries

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum