Bristol University Press
Four The UN Environment Programme Denounces ‘This Catastrophic Climate Gap’ between the Reductions Needed and the National Pledges
-
Anne Hessel
Abstract
In November 2017, the UN Environment Programme issued a warning of ‘this catastrophic … gap’ between the current pledges of the states to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and the efforts needed to comply with the Paris Agreement – to contain global warming well below 2 °C and to endeavour to limit it to 1.5 °C. In general, UN diplomats communicate in a more consensual manner, but this time, they were seriously worried and did not hesitate to say so. Major media around the world have echoed the following statement by the Director of the UN Environment Programme: ‘governments, private sector and civil society must bridge this catastrophic climate gap’.
Climate: the battle for 2°C is practically lost
The battle for the climate is not yet lost, but it has started very badly.… This is not the first warning given by UN Environment but it has a particularly urgent tone, just a few days before the opening of COP23 and after a cataclysmic summer, during which a succession of hurricanes, floods and fires showed the vulnerability of both rich and poor countries to climate disruption.
The commitments made in 2015 by the 195 countries involved in the Paris Agreement will only make it possible to do ‘About a third’ of the job, warn the authors.
Assuming that all the states respect all their promises, which are non-binding and sometimes conditional on obtaining international funding, the Earth is now moving towards a rise in the thermometer from 3°C to 3.2°C at the end of the century.
UN Environment still tries to remain optimistic.
Abstract
In November 2017, the UN Environment Programme issued a warning of ‘this catastrophic … gap’ between the current pledges of the states to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and the efforts needed to comply with the Paris Agreement – to contain global warming well below 2 °C and to endeavour to limit it to 1.5 °C. In general, UN diplomats communicate in a more consensual manner, but this time, they were seriously worried and did not hesitate to say so. Major media around the world have echoed the following statement by the Director of the UN Environment Programme: ‘governments, private sector and civil society must bridge this catastrophic climate gap’.
Climate: the battle for 2°C is practically lost
The battle for the climate is not yet lost, but it has started very badly.… This is not the first warning given by UN Environment but it has a particularly urgent tone, just a few days before the opening of COP23 and after a cataclysmic summer, during which a succession of hurricanes, floods and fires showed the vulnerability of both rich and poor countries to climate disruption.
The commitments made in 2015 by the 195 countries involved in the Paris Agreement will only make it possible to do ‘About a third’ of the job, warn the authors.
Assuming that all the states respect all their promises, which are non-binding and sometimes conditional on obtaining international funding, the Earth is now moving towards a rise in the thermometer from 3°C to 3.2°C at the end of the century.
UN Environment still tries to remain optimistic.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Tables, Figures and Boxes v
- Acknowledgements: The English Translation viii
- How We Can Win the Battle by Nicolas Hulot ix
- 2020: A Warning Shot by Anne Hessel x
- Foreword xiii
- ‘Our Home Is Burning and We Are Looking Elsewhere’ 1
- Global Warming: The Essential Cause Is Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 14
- ‘Soon It Will Be Too Late…’, Say 15,000 Scientists 24
- The UN Environment Programme Denounces ‘This Catastrophic Climate Gap’ between the Reductions Needed and the National Pledges 35
- Zero Net Carbon Emissions? Yes, It Is Possible 40
- Can We Make a Colossal Development Programme Work? We Can Do It! 50
- ‘€1,000 Billion for the Climate?’ If It Is Really Needed, Yes, We Can Do It! 56
- Putting Finance Back at the Service of the Common Good: The European Climate Finance Pact 78
- Save the Climate and Save Europe? It Is Now or Never! 97
- Conclusion: Creating a New Development Model 110
- Notes 112
- Index 119
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Tables, Figures and Boxes v
- Acknowledgements: The English Translation viii
- How We Can Win the Battle by Nicolas Hulot ix
- 2020: A Warning Shot by Anne Hessel x
- Foreword xiii
- ‘Our Home Is Burning and We Are Looking Elsewhere’ 1
- Global Warming: The Essential Cause Is Our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 14
- ‘Soon It Will Be Too Late…’, Say 15,000 Scientists 24
- The UN Environment Programme Denounces ‘This Catastrophic Climate Gap’ between the Reductions Needed and the National Pledges 35
- Zero Net Carbon Emissions? Yes, It Is Possible 40
- Can We Make a Colossal Development Programme Work? We Can Do It! 50
- ‘€1,000 Billion for the Climate?’ If It Is Really Needed, Yes, We Can Do It! 56
- Putting Finance Back at the Service of the Common Good: The European Climate Finance Pact 78
- Save the Climate and Save Europe? It Is Now or Never! 97
- Conclusion: Creating a New Development Model 110
- Notes 112
- Index 119
