Is the world doing enough about climate change?
The scientific consensus on climate change is increasingly bleak. As global temperatures continue to climb, the increase in climate extremes is pushing nature and humans “beyond their ability to adapt,” the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its late-February report. “Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, one of the report’s co-authors. Climate breakdown is already causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting the lives of billions of people. Impacts include deadly heat waves and other threats to human well-being, ocean acidification and significant species loss. “Half measures are no longer an option,” said IPCC chair Hoesung Lee. If the world stands a chance of blunting the worst effects of the climate emergency, its largest economies must move to quickly transition away from burning fossil fuels. And the wealthiest countries must lead the way. A new Corporate Knights analysis and accountability tool, Earth Index, has revealed that G20 countries, responsible for about 75% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, remain far off track from meeting their climate targets. From 2016 to 2019, none of the 10 developed countries that are members of the Group of 20 nations managed to reduce emissions at a rate consistent with their 2030 targets, the index shows. In 2019, only Germany and Turkey hit their marks. Canada was the worst performer of the developed countries. Its performance was second last to Russia – also a large oil and gas producer – between 2016 and 2019. Corporate Knights is launching the Earth Index initiative to gauge whether G20 countries are living up to their decarbonization commitments. “We are not on track to meet these targets,” says Ralph Torrie, Corporate Knights director of research. “And for most countries, it’s not even close.”
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.