On Monday, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said in a report released in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that the global community must adopt radical measures to curb the emission of greenhouse gases and avert climatic shocks whose devastation could take years to repair.
According to official data, launched ahead of the UN Climate Summit slated for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, the report warns that temperature rise could intensify this decade, given the sluggish progress nations are making in cutting down carbon emissions as stipulated in the Paris Agreement of 2015.
The Emissions Gap Report 2023 projects a planet heading for a rise of 2.5 degrees to 2.9 degrees Celsius in temperature unless governments and industry rapidly shift to low-carbon development pathways.
The report also says that to avoid a worst-case scenario, including cascading extreme weather events, low-carbon lifestyles must become the norm.
According to the report, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 28 percent to 42 percent would enable countries to realize the goal of maintaining temperatures below 2 degrees to 1.5 degrees Celsius, respectively, in line with the Paris Agreement.
Furthermore, Inger Andersen, the UNEP's executive director, stated that runaway greenhouse gas emissions were pushing the planet to the cliff, hence the urgency to reverse course through a deliberate shift to low-carbon economic development.
"Humanity is breaking all the wrong records when it comes to climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions reached a new high in 2022. In September 2023, global average temperatures were 1.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels," Andersen said.
The UNEP report reveals that greenhouse gas emissions spiked by 1.2 percent from 2021 to 2022 to reach a record of 57.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent.