New Climate Pledges Will Still See a Temperature Rise of 2.4C
In the last few months, many countries have renewed and improved their climate pledges to reduce emissions. However, according to a new study by the Climate Action Tracker, this will still result in a temperature rise of 2.4C.
That is is almost a degree higher than the Paris Agreement’s goal of 1.5C.
In comparison to the last assessment, that is only a 0.2C decrease. And this report factors in the United States promise to reduce emissions by 52% by 2030. In total, the final calculations have only seen an 11-14% improvement to the goal of 1.5C.
While it is an improvement, it is still far from enough.
The Temperature Rise Assumes All Promises Will Be Met
The report took into consideration every climate promise and pledge from around the world. However, that doesn’t mean that they will all be achieved. In reality, more countries do not meet their promises than the ones that do.
This is because all of the promises have no enforceable actions that can penalize the countries that do not meet the goals.
And if current policies remain in effect, the report found that the temperature rise will be between 2.9C and 3.9C. This includes the 27% of countries that do not currently have any plans to achieve net-zero emissions.
Of course, there is also the problem of countries that have continued to have worsening emission reports. These include nations like Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
Companies and Banks Are Having An Impact
Recently, many companies and even financial firms are starting to take far greater action than ever before. For instance, JP Morgan, the largest bank in the US, will be providing $2.5 trillion in investment opportunities.
Other banks and financial firms are beginning to deny investments into the oil and gas industry.
Meanwhile, companies are beginning to compete with each other to find more sustainable options for packaging. For example, Taco Bell is pursuing the first recyclable condiment packaging that would revolutionize the industry.
This is because the companies can read the writing on the world and see that younger generations are looking for eco-friendly options. If these companies do not adapt, they may not be around in the future.
Automobiles Are A Big Problem
It’s no secret that automobiles are having a huge impact when it comes to emissions and the report highlighted this fact.
The report calls for electric vehicles to achieve an extremely high market share of 95% by 2030 for developed nations. And that it should reach 100% by 2040 to ensure that the majority of passenger cars are emission-free by 2050.
While this may seem crazy to some, it’s not as far fetched as it may sound.
Several countries already have bans in place and many may be formulating even more. For instance, the state of California will be banning fossil fuel vehicles from being sold.
These types of bans will not get older cars off the road, but by only offering electric vehicles, it will certainly change the market share drastically. Although, some countries like Germany have started banning older models of cars that produce a lot of emissions.
It will be interesting to see how the world deals with this transition.
Robert has been following and writing about environmental stories for years at GreenGeeks. He believes that highlighting environmentally friendly practices can help promote change in every household.
