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2 min. read
·5 December, 2023
·2 min. read
UNEP calls on countries to take stronger measures to meet the temperature target
On November 20, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published the 2023 Emissions Gap Report, titled: “Broken Record - Temperatures hit new highs, yet the world fails to cut emissions (again).”
UNEP is responsible for all UN activities related to environmental improvement and sustainability. The Emissions Gap Report is published annually and provides an annual, independent, and science-based assessment of the gap between projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and what is needed to achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
UNEP emphasizes that the world is heading toward a global temperature rise of 2.5–2.9°C. These increases are well above the targets of the Paris Agreement, which sets a maximum temperature rise of 2°C, with the goal of limiting the rise to 1.5°C to keep the earth habitable. To limit the maximum temperature rise to 2°C, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by an additional 28% on top of current sustainability measures; to limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C, they must be reduced by an additional 42% by 2030.
UNEP calls on all countries to develop more ambitious measures in the areas of climate and sustainability. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, UNEP emphasizes the importance of carbon removal because it is impossible to completely eliminate all carbon emissions through emission reductions alone, and past carbon emissions must be removed from the atmosphere (Figure 1). Furthermore, UNEP states that, in the absence of substantial carbon emission reductions, reliance on carbon removal is likely to increase even further in the future.
Read the official report here:
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