Co2 emission cuts to be increased tenfold to tackle climate change

The rate of global carbon emissions cut needs to be increased by ten-fold in order to meet the Paris Agreement goals to fight climate change, says a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Sixty-four countries have already reduced their fossil carbon-dioxide emissions during the period between 2016 and 2019 but yet it has not been enough to meet the target.

The Paris Agreement builds on the Kyoto Protocol which was adopted in 1997, with commitments for emissions reductions for 36 mostly high-income economies

The study conducted by researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA), UK, Stanford University in the US and the Global Carbon Project shows the need for greater goals and ambition to be achieved ahead of the important UN climate summit in Glasgow, UK, which is to happen in November 2021.

They examined the progress in cutting fossil CO2 emissions since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015 and found that the annual cuts of 0.16 billion tonnes of CO2 are only 10 per cent of the 1-2 billion tonnes of CO2 cuts that are needed globally every year to tackle climate change.

"Countries' efforts to cut CO2 emissions since the Paris Agreement are starting to pay off, but actions are not large-scale enough yet and emissions are still increasing in way too many countries. The drop in CO2 emissions from responses to COVID-19 highlights the scale of actions and of international adherence needed to tackle climate change," said Corinne Le Quere, Royal Society Professor at UEA.

According to the study, Global carbon emissions grew by 0.21 billion tonnes of CO2 per year during 2016-2019 compared to 2011-2015.

The lockdown measures in 2020 had helped cut global emissions by 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 which is about 7 per cent less than the 2019 levels but in the researchers' opinion, confinement policies are neither a sustainable nor desirable solution to the issue of the climate crisis

The significant reduction in Co2 emissions by countries shows that actions to reduce emissions are now in motion in many countries worldwide. There are currently more than 2000 climate laws and policies worldwide and they have all played a key role in reducing emissions.

However, the researchers said that without proper investments in clean energy and the green economy, emissions would considerably increase again within a few years.