Global warming surged in past decade, research says
June 9, 2023
Global warming has increased in the past decade by 1.14 degrees Celsius, according to new research presented on Thursday in the German city of Bonn during the interim negotiations for the annual UN Climate Conference (COP28).
The research warned that human-induced warming has been rising at an "unprecedented rate" of 0.2 degrees per decade. The study, which looked at the decade between 2013 and 2022, was published in the Earth System Science Data journal.
The global community convenes annually at COP summits to review climate efforts and measure them against targets set during the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.
A peer-reviewed assessment presented on Thursday revealed that the net-zero plans of most countries contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions lacked credibility.
The United States and China, which together contribute to about a third of the global greenhouse gas emissions, were among the countries whose plans were regarded as lacking.
Who scored low on the 'net zero' plans review?
Nearly all of the 35 countries that contribute to over four-fifth of the global greenhouse gas emissions scored low.
Only one of the world's top carbon polluters had a credible plan: the European Union. Other top scorers included Britain and New Zealand.
Most countries are targeting carbon neutrality by 2050, with China and India committing to the years 2060 and 2070, respectively.
Thursday's assessment noted that many net-zero goals lacked important details, including whether the targets only cover CO2 or include other important planet-warming gasses such as methane and nitrous oxide.
How did emerging economies fare?
The majority of emerging economies were at the bottom of the list, scoring the lowest ratings. They included Brazil, India, South Africa and Indonesia.
Arab states such as Egypt, which hosted last year's COP, and the UAE, which is hosting this year's COP, also scored low.
COP28 call to scale down fossil fuel emissions
In Bonn, the UAE's incoming COP28 president tried to strike a stricter tone on the phasedown of fossil fuels. Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber had previously called in controversial comments for scaling down fossil fuel emissions rather than the use of the fuels themselves.
"The phasedown of fossil fuels is inevitable. The speed at which this happens depends on how quickly we can phase up zero-carbon alternatives, while ensuring energy security, accessibility and affordability," he said.
Al-Jaber also runs the UAE's state oil giant.
Last month, over 100 US congressmen and the EU parliament urged US President Joe Biden and European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen to pressure the UAE to oust him.
The Bonn interim negotiations are meant to lay the groundwork for the decisions reached during the COP summit.
rmt/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)