Too little progress on climate protection worldwide
According to a new study, climate protection efforts around the world are lagging far behind the goal of limiting global warming to a tolerable level. There is a lack of speed in the energy, industry, transportation and agricultural and forestry sectors, among others. Only the global sales figures for electric cars are in line with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times, as the "State of Climate Action" report published on Tuesday by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the NewClimate Institute, Climate Analytics and the Bezos Earth Fund shows.
The study translates the 1.5-degree target agreed in Paris in 2015 into concrete targets for individual sectors. The results are bleak, as study author Sophie Boehm from the WRI said. "Despite decades of urgent warnings and wake-up calls, our politicians have failed to even come close to mobilizing climate protection at the necessary speed and scale." Of 42 indicators examined, only the sale of electric cars is on track to meet the calculated 2030 milestones, he said.
Here are some examples from the report
- The share of solar and wind energy has risen by an average of 14 percent annually in recent years. However, 24 percent would be needed to reach the 1.5-degree target by 2030.
- According to the study, the pace of the coal phase-out would have to increase sevenfold. Converted, this means that around 240 coal-fired power plants would have to be decommissioned each year by 2030.
- Forest destruction: From 2021 to 2022, the deforested area increased from 5.4 to 5.8 million hectares, which is roughly equivalent to the area of Croatia.
- Climate-damaging subsidies: Despite promises to the contrary, state subsidies for oil, gas and coal shot up by almost double from 2020 to 2021 - partly due to the energy crisis in the wake of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Further investment in gas and coal power
Claire Fyson from Climate Analytics said it was absurd to continue investing heavily in gas and coal power in the face of the escalating climate crisis. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai in December, all governments worldwide must agree on a fair and rapid phase-out of oil, gas and coal.
The UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai in December is crucial, as it requires all governments worldwide to agree on a fair and rapid phase-out of oil, coal, and gas, acknowledging the urgency of climate protection measures. This is necessary given the report's findings that while the global sales of electric cars are progressing, other sectors, such as energy, industry, transportation, and agriculture and forestry, are falling behind in their efforts to limit global warming, sparking concerns about the UN's Climate goals.
Source: www.dpa.com
