Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Inger Andersen calls for seizing the opportunity at COP29 in Azerbaijan in November to step up action on climate change now.
As Day.Az reported on Monday with reference to Trend, her words are given in the Emissions Gap Report – 2024 UNEP.
“I urge all countries: enough lip service. Use COP29 in Baku to galvanize action now, lay the groundwork for stronger Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), and then work hard to get on track to 1.5°C by 2030 The sooner we take action towards a low-carbon, sustainable and prosperous future, the sooner we will achieve it – which will save lives, save money and protect the planetary systems on which we all depend,” she said.
Andersen believes countries must accelerate action now, demonstrate a significant increase in ambition in new commitments, and then urgently begin implementing policies.
“If they don’t, the Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming to 1.5°C will not be achieved for several years, and 2°C will take its place. The UNEP report shows how much higher countries must aim. To reach the least-cost path for 1.5°C, emissions would need to fall by 42 percent by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. For 2°C, emissions would need to fall by 28 percent by 2030, the next milestone after 2030. , which will be included in the NDC targets, emissions must be reduced by 57 percent for 1.5°C and 37 percent for 2°C,” the executive director explained.
Andersen added that with greenhouse gas emissions rising to a new record level of 57.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, the required emissions reductions have become even greater: they need to be reduced by 7.5 percent annually until 2035 to keep warming at bay. 1.5°C.
“Current commitments fall far short of required levels, leading us to a best-case global warming scenario of 2.6°C this century and requiring costly and extensive removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the future to reduce the level of exceedance. However, this report shows that it remains technically possible to reach the 1.5°C warming trajectory. Increased use of solar photovoltaic and wind energy technologies could provide 27 percent of the total emissions reduction potential by 2030 and 38 percent by 2035. Other promising measures include efficiency gains. electrification and transition to alternative fuels in the construction, transport and industrial sectors,” said the UNEP Executive Director.
To achieve the goals, the world will need a multi-agency approach, policies that maximize socio-economic and environmental benefits while minimizing trade-offs, and increased investment in climate change mitigation by at least six times – supported by reforms to the global financial architecture and strong private sector action. she said.
Andersen noted that the main burden should fall on the G20 countries, especially the largest emitters, since they play a leading role in the global economy.
“In fact, it will require global mobilization on a scale and at a pace the world has never seen. Many will say it is impossible. But to focus only on the question of possibility is to miss one crucial point: the transition to a carbon-neutral economy must happen, and sooner Once this global transformation begins, so much the better. Every fraction of a degree avoided makes a difference in terms of saving lives, protecting economies, preventing damage, preserving biodiversity and enabling rapid reduction of temperature rises,” she added.
Let us recall that the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) will be held in November this year in Azerbaijan. This decision was made at the COP28 plenary meeting held in Dubai on December 11 last year.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. The abbreviation COP (Conference of Parties) translated from English means “Conference of Parties”, this is the highest legislative body that controls the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
There are 198 countries that are parties to the Convention. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the COP is held annually. The first COP event took place in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.