A recent UN report has warned that annual greenhouse gas emissions have reached an all-time high, underscoring the urgent need for action to avert a catastrophic rise in temperatures and mitigate the most severe impacts of climate change.
“Countries must start curbing emissions immediately”, according to the UN Emissions Gap Report 2024, released Thursday by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
“Climate crunch time is here,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “We need global mobilization on a scale and pace never seen before, starting right now before the next round of climate pledges,” she added.
If not, she warned, the 1.5°C goal to cap rising temperatures set in the Paris Agreement on climate change “will soon be dead, and well below two degrees Celsius will take its place in the intensive care unit”.
According to the report, the 1.5°C goal will be gone within a few years unless nations collectively commit to cut 42 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 57 percent by 2035 in the next round of nationally determined contributions and back this up with rapid action.
