Editorial: Stocktaking calamity
CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR 11TH SEPTEMBER, 2023
Editorial: Stocktaking calamity
The United Nations' Global Stockate report set out the scope of challenges that await the major economies of the world. This is to serve as a template to guide discussion ahead of the 28th Conference of Parties scheduled in Dubai this November and is meant to be an official reckoning of the work actually done by countries since 2015, in stemming greenhouse gas emissions.
That year, signatories to the UN Convention on Climate change agreed in Paris (COP21) to keep global emissions from rising beyond 2°C, and as far as possible, limit it to 1.5 degrees.
The report says that more effort is needed in implementing domestic measures to reduce global GHG emissions by 43% by 2030, 60% by 2035, and reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 globally. A rapid upscaling of renewable energy resources and an eschewal of fossil fuel resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas is needed.
G-20 countries account for 93% of global operating coal power plants and 88% of prospective ones. Hence, the report gathers significance being released just ahead of the global summit.
The report also dwells on the need to reverse deforestation and the adoption of electric vehicles as vital prongs to a clean energy economy.