UN finds ‘No Credible Pathway to 1.5C in Place’

The future of global warming and climate disaster looks grim, according to the latest report by the United Nations environmental agency, The Guardian reported.

In order to prevent a complete catastrophe, emissions need to be slashed globally to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030. However, the world is not on track. 

There is “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place” and the failure to reduce carbon emissions means the only way to limit the worst impacts of the climate crisis is a “rapid transformation of societies”, the United Nation’s environmental agency said. 

The U.N. environment report analyzed the gap between the carbon emission cuts pledged by countries and the cuts needed to limit any rise in global temperature to 1.5C, the internationally agreed-upon target. 

Progress has been “woefully inadequate”, the report concluded.

Inger Andersen, the executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said: “This report tells us in cold scientific terms what nature has been telling us all year through deadly floods, storms, and raging fires: we have to stop filling our atmosphere with greenhouse gases and stop doing it fast.

“We had our chance to make incremental changes, but that time is over. Only a root-and-branch transformation of our economies and societies can save us from accelerating climate disaster.” 

Even if the current pledges for action by 2030 were delivered in full, there would be a rise in global heating of about 2.5C. This would mean catastrophic extreme weather around the world. 

A rise of 1 Celsius to date has caused climate disasters in countries from Pakistan to Puerto Rico.

If the long-term pledges by countries to hit net zero emissions by 2050 were delivered, the global temperature would rise by 1.8 degrees Celsius. 

But actions are being taken at such a slow pace that meeting even this temperature limit is not credible. 

One year ago at the U.N. climate summit Cop 26, countries increased their pledges. 

But with Cop 27 looming in November, only a couple of dozen of countries have done so and kept to promises. 

The new pledges would shave just 1 percent off emissions in 2030. 

That is woefully short of the 50 percent slash needed to global emissions by 2030 in order to keep the 1.5 degrees Celsius target alive.